◆ Chapter 5: Not Zombie Free Yet
◆ Chapter 5: Not Zombie Free Yet
“I always remember the first time whenever I come here,” Cia says, nostalgia in her voice.
“The time we tried to purify the castle, right? That was a serious life or death struggle.”
“To this day, your bravery continues to inspire me, Big Sister.”
“Ahaha… I think I was more reckless than brave.”
The next day, not long after the sun rose, Cia and I are chatting about the past as we cross the drawbridge over the moat isolating the castle. This bridge can easily be named the most dangerous place I had to purify. I could go on for forever talking about the dangers I encountered here, but we didn’t come to the bridge to talk about the past.
I have plans to meet up with Nady again today. We’re supposed to meet up on this drawbridge. As I’m chatting with Cia, I see someone with perked triangular ears and a fluffy tail running toward us from the city side. There’s no mistaking it’s her.
“I’m sorry. Did you wait long?” she asks once she’s on the bridge, then catches her breath.
“We just got here too. Didn’t we, Cia?”
“Yes, it wasn’t much of a wait because it gave me time to enjoy a pleasant chat with Big Sis.”
That’s basically a roundabout way of admitting we had been waiting. Apparently Cia only counts it as waiting if she is bored. Well, she’s too cute to mind how she words things.
“I feel bad about making you go out of your way to meet me here…”
“We’re the ones who invited you today,” I say to assure her. “Besides, I know how scary it can be to enter the castle grounds alone.”
“Yeah, it certainly is daunting… Ahaha.” Nady forces a nervous laugh.
Cia tilts her head. “Why is that?”
“It’s different for you because it’s your home, Cia.”
The castle belongs to the royal family and Cia sleeps there. It’s only natural she wouldn’t have the same reservations. Though the same could be said for me as it’s where I live in this world and I do treat it like a second home now.
“Anyway, no point wasting the day here. Let’s go!”
It goes without saying that Lex is on guard detail today as well. He’s following from a few feet behind us out of consideration for my request from the other day. I shoot him a look, signaling him to come as I set out through the gate with Cia and Nady.
The gatekeepers instantly stand at attention when they see me and Cia. They keep things formal when there are people around or if Cia is with me, otherwise we often have casual conversations when it’s just me and Lex. Our relationship is a bit like neighbors on good terms.
“I’m sorry yesterday’s outing turned gruesome.”
“That’s not your fault, Mizuha. It’s part of your job,” Nady says, being considerate of me.
The whole zombie bird attack ended up cutting our tour of the capital short. So we decided to have a tea party today to make up for it. Though really, that’s just an excuse to spend more time with Nady.
“Are zombie birds…common?” she asks.
“Humans are the most common. I saw a zombie bird once before, but it didn’t attack me like this one did.”
The last one I saw appeared during our quest to vanquish the Dark Djinn. When I saw it then, it seemed more like a scout. I never saw it again, so I sort of shelved birds as non-threats. But after yesterday, I need to stay on the lookout for them.
Cia frowns up at the sky. “Archers are our only option for shooting them out of the sky.”
“They would need to be skilled archers because not only are zombie birds on the small side, they also move quickly,” I respond, trying to strategize from a noncombatant’s standpoint.
Nady’s ears droop and her face darkens.
“Something wrong, Nady?”
“N-No. It’s nothing. I was just thinking.”
She looked awfully concerned for “just thinking”. I’m worried, but I don’t want to pry too much when she purposefully avoided the question.
“Sir Lex!”
A panicked voice greets us moments after we enter the castle. I turn around to find a knight running up to Lex, his expression grave. As they converse, Lex’s face darkens.
“Never a quiet moment, is there?” Cia says.
“I wonder what happened.”
I have the day off from my priestess duties, but I won’t ignore an emergency because of it. Cia and I share a look and walk back to where Lex and the knight are talking.
“What’s wrong, Lex?”
“…Lady Mizuha. I was hoping to let you rest today.”
“More trouble? Where’s the zombie?”
“There’s no zombie, but…the matter isn’t entirely unrelated to you, m’lady.” Lex seems hesitant to discuss it with me. “Please allow me to receive permission from His Majesty before disclosing the details.”
◆◆◆◆◆
“I have come per your summons, Your Majesty.”
“Good to see you, Lex. Thank you for coming as well, Holy Priestess Mizuha.”
Lex brought me to the king’s private office. When I asked him to explain what’s going on, he told me I needed to hear it directly from the king. Cia and Nady are in attendance with us too.
The office is full of simple yet luxurious furniture. It lacks the bombastic flourishes of the royal audience chamber. Thanks to that, my nerves aren’t acting up on me. Another big reason I’m no longer nervous is because I have met with His Majesty many times within the castle since rescuing him and his wife.
In the three months since then, he has completely recovered and his skin has regained a healthy glow. He’s a silver fox with rugged good looks—I can easily imagine him becoming an actor who always scores the king role in period dramas if he lived on Earth. I understand why he has fanatic fangirls, but Jela took her obsession too far by starting the zombie apocalypse just to have him.
“Are you sure you don’t mind telling me?” I ask, curtsying like Cia taught me.
“It’s fine. You aren’t uninvolved in this matter.”
Lex said the same thing earlier. Is that their roundabout way of saying it has something to do with me?
The king’s hard expression instantly softens when he sees Cia curtsying beside me. “I see you are with the Holy Priestess again, Cia.”
“Yes, Father. I was about to have tea with the girls,” Cia replies, looking from me to Nady.
“Interesting. I didn’t expect the day would come when I would see Lucors in the capital.” He seems surprised by Nady.
“Hey, Cia?” I whisper. “Are Lucors that rare?”
“They are. Lucors typically live in the forests and rarely show themselves in places with lots of people like the capital.”
Fidgeting uncomfortably, Nady mutters, “I can leave if I am a nuisance.” Her ears and tail droop in unison.
“Stay. May I inquire of your name?” His Majesty asks.
“I-I am Nady Ol Theos La Quim Rom Lucor.”
“Oh? Then you are Theos’s daughter?” A delighted smile breaks out on the king’s handsome face. Not only was he unsurprised by her long name, but he even determined her father’s name from it. That’s a king for you.
“You know my father?”
“Of course I know him. He is the Lucor Chieftain after all.”
It sounds like the king and Nady’s father are acquaintances. So if Nady’s dad is the Lucor Chieftain, then…
“Wait, you’re the chief’s daughter, Nady?!” I cry out a little louder than I meant to.
“Y-Yeah,” she falters.
I had no idea, even though we’re friends. I mean, sure, we only just became friends, so obviously I couldn’t have known, but still. I can’t help being a little shocked by it.
My friends are a princess and a chieftain’s daughter. I’m just a normal high school girl surrounded by the daughters of country and tribal leaders. I have my title as priestess, but it was something I acquired, not that I was born into. I’m not going to start acting differently with them at this point in the game, but it’s another reminder of the kind of amazing people I hang out with.
“Can you tell us what happened now, Father?”
“Very well. Someone from Torstana was among the people Priestess Mizuha saved during the last expedition.”
If memory serves me right, Torstana is neighbors with Grantz Kingdom. I remember hearing they were at war with a country called Ladan.
“Are you speaking of Mr. Kodbyen?” Nady asks.
“I am,” His Majesty acknowledges.
“Know him, Nady?”
“Yeah. He’s a merchant who often travels between my village and Cladorca.”
“He’s a traveling merchant, then? What’s Cladorca?”
“It’s Torstana’s biggest trade city near Grantz. Though it’s more like a fortress with a mountain range surrounding it.”
It sounds about right for a border city to double as a fortress. In any event, I’m not seeing the big deal with this merchant being from Torstana.
“Why is this Torstana merchant a problem?” I ask, urging the king to continue.
“He pleaded with me to make the Holy Priestess purify his homeland.”
“Aah. Now I get it.”
It definitely has something to do with me then. Or more like, this is a conversation that can’t continue without my input.
“I turned him down.”
“Why…?”
“As you know, Torstana has warred with Ladan for years, creating chaos in the world. Goddess Sadia made it clear that their war brought the Dark Djinn on us. We mustn’t purify such vile countries,” His Majesty declares.
I understand the logic behind not wanting to aid them. If we purify Torstana, we will eventually have to do the same for Ladan. Once both kingdoms are back, they will likely resume their war.
Worse yet, Torstana might even prevent us from purifying Ladan. Or, if they take it a step further, they could very well attack Grantz with Ladan out of the picture. There’s no end to the potential risks. But we are talking about fellow humans first and foremost.
“Do you intend to leave them as zombies forever?” I ask outright.
“That depends…” His Majesty says evasively. He is bound by various obligations as the king of one nation.
“Lady Mizuha,” Lex cautions, trying to stop me from pressing the matter.
I, however, am not one to hide what I think. “To be honest with you, when I first saw the tall, fortress walls surrounding this city, I was against purifying it because I wanted nothing to do with a kingdom at war. My initial impression was wrong. We can’t leave an entire kingdom crawling with zombies be.”
Zombies rot the land they stand on and everything they come in contact with. In other words, as long as zombies exist, the threat of decay will never leave the world.
“I promised Goddess Sadia that I will assist in purifying the entire world, not just one kingdom,” I stress.
“I also believe it should be done someday. However…I ask you to wait for the time being,” the king requests, his face hard.
At first, I saw promise in his words, until I realized that “someday” is a word parents often use to appease children for things they never intend to do.