A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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After recovering from the shock Cyprus’s body had delivered, it was breakfast time.
“Did you check if the notice was still posted, Cyprus?”
“Yeah. There was nothing there.”
“No other traces either?”
“That’s right, that oat girl!”
“It’s not oats, it’s Cherry, Tangerine…”
“I couldn’t find her. At this point, I’m wondering if there’s some secret location I don’t know about.”
“C-could they have already taken a ship and left the Island?”
“Wouldn’t rumors about zombies have already spread to the Mainland if that were the case?”
“They might have died before reaching the Mainland!”
Without an experienced sailor, they could have gotten lost at Sea and starved to death, or hit a reef and sunk! Tangerine said.
Muffin and Pickle’s faces beside her turned pale.
“D-did Cherry unnie die because of us?”
“No. That’s not it.”
Eat this and cover your ears. Yujein hurriedly pulled snacks from her bag and thrust them into the children’s hands.
“That’s right, that’s not it! It’s just that possibility is quite high!”
You’ll carry guilt for the rest of your lives! I quickly changed the subject to distract from Tangerine’s cheerfully added remark.
“And we still haven’t found the cause of the zombies appearing on this Island.”
No one witnessed the moment the zombies first emerged from the Warehouse. Besides, we don’t even know if a Gate opened in this Village.
We gained less information here than when we went to the Zombie Villa or Prome’s Ancient Maze.
“Hey, did anyone see a suspicious person on the Island before that incident happened?”
“Yeah, like an evil sorcerer wearing a dark hood.”
“The only people who came to the Island were those on the Tribute Ship. We know all their faces since they come every year.”
“Did some unknown illness spread among the Island people?”
“Everyone was healthy.”
“Hmm.”
This is frustrating.
“If we continue to gain nothing like this…”
“We’ll need to build Temples throughout the nation. It’s the only solution to stop zombies.”
“The country might end up with more Temples than houses!”
“W-will it really come to that…?”
Yujein, who knew the Emperor’s temperament, spoke skeptically.
Right. He’s the type who can’t even destroy the existing Temples and is frustrated about it.
“What about General, Your Majesty?”
“…Still no sign of them.”
It was the first time Cyprus, who had been unusually bright ever since our “conversation” at dawn, wore a gloomy expression.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaack!”
A sharp scream shook the floor below.
“What?!”
“Kyaaack! Aaaack!”
“…?!”
Had a zombie gotten inside?
Without sight, it shouldn’t have been able to find this building’s entrance, but had it climbed the Staircase that connected directly from the Plaza to the Bell Tower?
I immediately seized a weapon and rose to my feet. I glanced to the side, thinking my companions would naturally react the same way, intending to go out and investigate together.
“…Huh?”
Unlike my startled reaction, my companions were calmly chewing their food.
“….”
Let me correct that. Only Praha, Cyprus, and Tangerine appeared composed. Yujein wore an expression similar to mine.
Praha, whose eyes met mine as I stared in bewilderment, issued an instruction to Tangerine.
“Keep the children here.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
“Miss Yujein, you stay here as well.”
“I, I want to go too…! What if there are a lot of zombies that invaded…!”
“There won’t be many.”
“Yes…?”
“Come on, why are you like that? There could be a lot, you know.”
Cyprus interjected with a sly grin.
…What’s going on?
“Aaaahhhhh! Kyaaaaaahhhhh!”
“…Well… should we go check?”
“Yes.”
We were currently on the third floor, which had a good view of the outside. The children, led by Lime, usually gathered in the first-floor Lobby to spend time together. Apparently, Lime disliked the children leaving his sight.
Praha stopped me as I rushed down the Staircase, taking two steps at a time in my haste.
“If you fall on the Staircase, you could suffer complete paralysis.”
“…Then couldn’t you at least run down and see what’s happening?”
“I’m also afraid of complete paralysis.”
“Right. We should avoid complete paralysis.”
Cyprus added unhelpfully.
“….”
This was getting increasingly suspicious.
Around the time I exchanged glances with Yujein, who seemed equally confused.
I heard rapid footsteps approaching.
“Over there…!”
It was Cheese. The girl I’d lent a sanitary pad to yesterday.
Cheese, her face drained of color, pointed in the direction she’d come from.
“There’s a grandfather who’s become a monster over there…!”
“A monster?”
“Yes, yes… but….”
“But?”
“He’s tied up.”
“Trapped?”
“Well, not exactly trapped—it looks like it got caught in the net on its own, but either way, it can’t move.”
A zombie caught in a net by itself?
That’s suspicious.
I whipped my head around to look at Cyprus. Praha, meeting my gaze directly, attempted an awkward smile. Behind him, Cyprus whistled.
I asked Cheese.
“So the children are safe for now?”
“Yes… At first I was startled, but then I saw that grandfather couldn’t move at all.”
“Then why did you run here?”
“Lime told me to hurry and bring weapons or something…”
“…And no one’s hurt?”
“No…”
“Then why did you keep screaming?”
“Lime was the one screaming.”
“…So it’s safe, then?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“You must have been quite frightened.”
Yujein comforted Cheese and took her hand, placing her between us as we headed toward where the zombie was.
Sure enough.
“Grrrrgh…”
A zombie was caught in a net in front of a pillar in the corner of the Lobby.
The zombie, appearing to be a man in his nineties by appearance, couldn’t even stand properly—its knees were worn—and all its teeth had already fallen out. It didn’t look like someone had broken them; it seemed like natural decay from age.
‘Even if its body were free, it wouldn’t be able to bite anyone.’
It couldn’t walk, couldn’t chew. Yet in contrast, the zombie’s clothes and face looked quite intact. As if someone had groomed it before bringing it here. So it wouldn’t look too grotesque.
It wasn’t actually caught in the net.
‘It looks like it got caught in the net on its own, but in reality, someone deliberately restrained its body.’
Lime and the children must not have noticed from a distance, but up close, it’s obvious. The touch of human hands.
The most peculiar thing was.
It was wearing a neck collar around its throat, like a neutered cat.
“…”
Yes, that’s right.
The collar I’d brought along, the one I’d even shown Cyprus how to use before.
That collar that could prevent zombie bites and allow for live capture!
I shot Cyprus a glare.
“What’s your name again?”
Yujein, catching on to the situation, spoke to Cheese and led her away to a corner.
I gritted my teeth and whispered.
“You brought that zombie here and left it… didn’t you?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“The children probably don’t know, but you were aware, weren’t you? Praha and Tangerine as well?”
“Someone do something about this aaaahhhhh!”
Right on cue, Lime let out a scream.
He kept jabbing his fingers into the back of the child in front of him, shrieking for someone to do something about the situation.
The zombie responded to his screams.
“Grrrraahhh!”
“Kyaaahhh!”
“No…”
Cyprus spoke to me as I stood there bewildered.
“Persuasion is all well and good, but Grand Duke’s Consort. We’ll never leave this place at this rate.”
“…”
“No teeth, can’t walk, restrained, and I even put a neck collar on it just in case. That zombie has a zero percent chance of biting anyone. I made a mistake bringing the zombie in, but what can we do? We need to get those children out of here.”
“…”
“They need to understand exactly what situation they’re in. Isn’t it an adult’s duty to discipline stubborn children?”
“…Exactly what situation they’re in.”
“It’s absolutely not the case that I used stronger measures because those children disrespected the Grand Duke’s Consort.”
I alternated my gaze between Cyprus’s smoothly curved eyes and the children huddled in the corner. They were certainly frightened, but none of them looked unable to handle the situation.
“…It’s certainly an effective method. I was thinking about this wrong.”
I needed to get the children out of here as soon as possible, yet I’d been planning to persuade them here.
Q. Didn’t you scare the children too harshly? What if they develop trauma!
A. This entire situation is already trauma for the children.
“Now I understand why Your Majesty didn’t tell me in advance.”
“Actually, I didn’t tell Praha or Tangerine beforehand either. I just brought the zombie in first and explained afterward.”
“…And then?”
“Tangerine actively approved, but Praha…”
“What about Praha?”
“He opposed it, so I threw the Grand Duke’s Consort’s name around a bit.”
“Didn’t we agree to stop mentioning the Grand Duke’s Consort?”
Praha interjected. He looked down at me and spoke without any shame.
“I tried to stop it.”
“Hey, don’t act innocent. If I hadn’t brought the zombie, you would’ve picked up a sword yesterday and…”
“Shut up.”
“Yeah, I’ll be quiet.”
Cyprus made a zipping motion across his lips and stretched languidly.
“So shall we go give the children a second chance?”
“I suppose we should…”
“Give me some credit—it was hard work finding and bringing a toothless zombie.”
Cyprus brushed off his sleeves and walked toward the huddled children and Lime.
Yujein and Cheese had already made their way back over here.
Praha approached the pillar and skillfully dragged the zombie out of the children’s sight.
I spoke coldly to the children, whose faces had brightened with obvious relief at the sight of us.
“You saw it yourselves. This place isn’t perfectly safe either.”
“….”
“We’re not going to stay on this Island for days on end, clearing out every last corpse for your sake. Right now is your only chance to reach somewhere safe.”
“….”
“So what will it be?”
I felt oddly like a con artist, though I couldn’t deny the truth in my words.
If they refused after I’d spelled it out this plainly, they’d be fools.
[Inhabited Island]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine, Muffin, Pickle (Surviving)
– General (Departed)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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