Chapter 63

“Huuuuuuhhh…!”

Queens screamed.

No way.

Did I kill someone?

And not just anyone, but an injured survivor who barely managed to live?

…At some point, I felt a presence behind me.

The Princess was covering her mouth.

Verdi was staring at me with suspicious eyes.

The others who looked at me and the collapsed survivor couldn’t say a word, as if they were struck by shock.

Among them, only one female cadet with glasses raised her voice.

“Whoa, what’s this? A new survivor? A murder scene? That’s a scoop!”

Murder?

The moment I heard that word, my heart sank.

“N-no. It’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to…!”

Just as I desperately tried to explain myself to the survivors, including the Princess.

“Uwaagh!”

A dirt-stained arm shot up from the ground.

And it wasn’t just one or two…

“What the hell is this?!”

Dozens—no, hundreds of arms were rising from the ground.

Grrraaahh…

Their eyes were unfocused, their backs hunched, and their legs moved sluggishly.

“Uuurgh…!”

It was when Queens recoiled in horror.

“Step back.”

A brown-haired cadet, Ren, stood in front of Queens.

As he gripped the sword at his waist and exhaled.

Whoosh! Slash!

Ren swung his sword swiftly, and the wind stirred.

There was also the sound of something sharp slicing through.

Sure enough, the creatures were instantly cleaved in two.

Did he… kill them?

Was there really a need to kill them?

“These aren’t humans.”

Ren answered while catching his breath.

Just as he said, the fallen bodies began turning into black ashes.

Buried corpses.

It was easy to realize they were monsters.

“These are wraiths, get a hold of yourself, Senior Queens.”

He kept his hand on his sword, ready to draw at any time.

His eyes darted around, gauging the enemy’s numbers.

‘He looks used to real combat…’

Unconsciously, Queens glanced at his nametag and realized the brown-haired cadet was only a first-year.

Damn…

As a senior, I just showed such a disgraceful side to a junior.

“Y-yeah. Your name is… Ren, right? Actually, I already knew, Ren. That’s why I was the first to slay them!”

Queens stood up and rummaged through his pocket.

“Alright then, let’s do this properly…!”

He put on a steel gauntlet infused with mana and glanced at the others around him.

‘It’s time.’

From the sound of Queens’ scream, I realized the episode had begun.

Inside the booth, Curio, who was monitoring me, didn’t move an inch and only stared at me.

“Seems like some kind of commotion has broken out.”

“……”

After hearing my words, Curio fiddled with her ear briefly.

It must have been a mana transmission from Verdi.

Perhaps having received news of an emergency, she rose from her seat.

“Sir Villed, follow me.”

Curio drew her sword and went ahead, and I followed behind.

Slash!

Thanks to Curio’s escort, there was no need for me to use my abilities.

‘The surroundings are crawling with ghouls.’

Monsters resembling humans.

In modern times, they were exactly what one would call “zombies.”

Every monster in this episode took this form.

“We’re joining up.”

With Curio, I entered the central camp where the survivors had gathered and came under protection.

Perhaps because of how urgent the situation was, many survivors looked terrified, biting their nails or turning pale.

“Sir, I’m sorry but… could I get an interview?”

The reporter cadet, on the other hand, looked as if she found the situation entertaining, smiling brightly.

“Save it for later.”

To request an interview while surrounded by zombies?

Some war correspondents indeed threw themselves into tense battlefields, but this one’s act was a bit too much.

Slash!

“We’re surrounded.”

Verdi cut down another wraith and answered Ren.

“But they’re slow. There are a few escape routes.”

Ren kept scanning the area restlessly.

…He must have judged that endlessly cutting down pursuing ghouls was meaningless.

“Their numbers keep increasing. At this rate, it’ll get out of hand.”

“We’ll evacuate into a building.”

Verdi spoke.

Evacuation was the top priority, but securing food was equally important.

In fact, the destination had already been decided.

“We’ll head to the nearby restaurant. Form up and move out.”

Verdi looked at a building in the distance as he spoke.

It was about a kilometer away.

As long as nothing went terribly wrong, they would reach it within twenty minutes.

Verdi and Curio took charge of the most important front and rear positions.

“Ren, you take the left. You, take the right.”

“Huh? Who, me?”

When Verdi gave the order, Queens pointed to himself in disbelief.

“Who else would it be?”

The number of people who could actually fight was limited.

“……”

Queens looked around at the survivors and reluctantly accepted.

The formation was arranged with the noncombatant survivors in the center, surrounded on both sides for protection.

Slash! Thud!

Grrraahhh!

The sound of flesh being cut, weapons swinging, monsters’ dying screams.

Those chilling noises drilled into everyone’s ears.

Some cadets even covered their ears to drown out the fear.

…I felt the surrounding stares tinged with resentment.

‘Of course they’d resent me.’

My wrist was hidden beneath a blanket.

Perhaps they noticed the restraints on my crippled arm.

Everyone realized that Verdi suspected me as the culprit.

The Princess glared at me warily.

McGrim tried to keep as much distance from me as possible.

Bijou sweated and shot me a hostile glare.

Even while cutting down ghouls, Queens occasionally snuck glances my way.

Hayes, the reporter, smiled, but her eyes betrayed the sharp calculation behind them.

‘They’re all treating me like I’m already the perpetrator.’

…Everyone except Lapin, who was waving at me with a small hand.

Of course, I didn’t feel wronged about being falsely accused.

Rather, I was grateful for being handcuffed and framed.

‘Because the plan will flow even more smoothly.’

The more they restrain and suspect me, the more I’ll be able to ‘use’ that situation.

“Not much farther!”

Ren shouted.

The Ponglaine Hall Second Student Cafeteria building that had seemed distant was suddenly right in front of us.

We reached the front of the building, but another problem arose.

“There are three entrances to this cafeteria!”

Bijou shouted.

“If we enter the building right away… they might invade through the other entrances.”

That was a valid point.

Ren agreed with the opinion.

“To prevent them from coming inside, we need to split into three groups, enter simultaneously, and block the doors!”

“I’ll divide the teams.”

Because of the urgent situation, the decision was made swiftly.

The Princess and McGrim followed Verdi to the front entrance.

Bijou and I followed Curio to the side entrance, while the remaining people took the back entrance.

“Their numbers are increasing.”

“Hurry, this way!”

But there wasn’t any noticeable progress.

‘Well, that makes sense.’

The ghouls still swarmed like a pack of dogs, but now our fighting power was spread thin, and each person had to cover more ground.

‘They’re struggling more than expected.’

I opened subspace and pulled out a liquor bottle.

It was alcohol that Villed had once drunk in the past.

Curio was too busy cutting down ghouls to notice.

“…What are you doing?”

Only Bijou, who was watching from the side, noticed I was holding a bottle.

“I’m in a foul mood, so I’ll drink a bit. Got a problem?”

Pop!

I uncorked the bottle.

“…Huh?”

Bijou frowned.

The strong smell spread through the air.

She stared at me as if to ask why I would take out alcohol in such a dire moment.

An act outside the bounds of normal behavior unfolded before her eyes.

Her face, showing how incomprehensible it was, looked rather amusing.

“W-wait a second? This isn’t the time to drink! And it’s ridiculously strong… This makes no sense at all!”

“What doesn’t make sense about me drinking?”

“Don’t drink it!”

Bijou grabbed my bottle.

She tried to wrest it away by force.

Seizing that moment, I pulled back the bottle with all my strength.

Spin…

Maybe because I pulled too hard, I ended up letting go of the bottle.

It spun through the air in an arc.

And fell toward the ground.

Crash!

The bottle shattered, spilling alcohol across the floor.

The pungent scent spread everywhere.

“Sir Villed, what are you doing! Stop dawdling!”

“……”

Curio scolded me, and Bijou followed after her, looking at me with exasperation.

“Do you know how much that cost? …Forget it, the mood’s ruined.”

I shut my mouth and kept running.

…With this, we should be able to enter the building safely.

‘Ghouls have sensitive noses.’

Especially, they react strongly to alcohol.

All the nearby ghouls would gather where the bottle shattered.

After running for a while, we reached the side.

Since the door was made of steel, if shut tightly, it could withstand the ghouls for a while.

“Hurry inside!”

Creak!

Curio rushed ahead and opened the door.

Bijou and I went in first, then Curio quickly followed and locked it.

Fortunately, there was no sign of ghouls attacking the door from outside.

“The ghouls… they’re not chasing us anymore…”

“Damn, I really thought I was going to die.”

After running so long, we were out of breath.

Bijou and I leaned against the wall to catch our breath.

I turned my gaze to Curio, who had been silent the whole time.

She was staring intently at me.

Meanwhile, at the cafeteria’s back entrance.

They were on the verge of danger if they delayed any longer.

Grrraahhh…

The swarming ghouls suddenly stopped moving.

Then, turning their heads in another direction, they all marched that way.

“…Huh?”

Ren and Queens were briefly baffled by the strange phenomenon.

“Now! Let’s move quickly!”

Taking advantage of the chance, they entered safely through the back door.

The same went for Verdi’s group at the front door—they entered the building without any trouble.

After reaching inside, everyone gathered at the central lobby as planned.

“Thank goodness!”

“You made it!”

Only after regrouping did they all breathe sighs of relief.

“…There aren’t any ghouls inside the building, right?”

“We can’t be sure. Let’s split up and search the area.”

They scoured every corner of the building, but not a single ghoul could be found.

“Sir Villed, you will wait here.”

After confirming the inside was safe, they seated Villed in a lounge on the third floor.

Villed, under Curio’s watch, cooperated without resistance.

“We found the kitchen!”

They also succeeded in securing food supplies.

Many of the cafeteria tables were stacked against the doors to serve as barricades.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

…But one unsettling doubt had lingered since earlier.

“Actually, we saw something strange. The ghouls that were chasing us suddenly went somewhere else. Thanks to that, we got inside easily, but… it’s weird.”

Queens voiced the question first.

The Princess also looked a little startled as she spoke.

“…It was the same for us.”

She looked at Bijou, as if asking, did you see the same?

“……”

Bijou hesitated, unable to speak right away.

As she stayed silent, the Princess lost patience and answered herself.

“Bijou, was it the same for your team?”

“…Yes, the ghouls didn’t chase us.”

Her mind was tangled, but Bijou thought she knew why.

“…I read about it in a book.”

Bijou gave a simple explanation.

Undead creatures like ghouls were especially sensitive to hearing and smell.

“And just then, that noble boy dropped a bottle of strong alcohol. The ghouls really did move toward where the bottle shattered.”

“…Villed? He dropped a bottle?”

When Bijou gave a faint nod, the Princess widened her eyes and spoke.

“No way, did he do that… to help us?”

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