A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 109

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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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Chapter 13. Once Is a Mistake, Twice Is Negligence
“Why did you get bitten?”
Cherry’s single utterance silenced the room.
Unaware of the gravity her words had unleashed, Cherry glanced around with a bewildered expression.
Lime, who had been sitting in dejected silence, shot to his feet.
“Bitten?!”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“You really got bitten? You?! How?!”
“Enough noise.”
Praha approached from behind Lime, who was gesticulating wildly at Cherry, and tapped somewhere on the crown of his head. The touch was gentle, yet Lime’s eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconscious.
Praha’s long legs swept Lime’s crumpling form aside, rolling it into the corner.
“Well done.”
Cyprus gave a thumbs up in praise. Praha’s expression remained impassive, offering no acknowledgment. Cyprus’s face was equally rigid—this was no time for levity.
There was nothing to smile about now.
Bitten by a zombie.
‘Of all people.’
Life holds no hierarchy in value, yet why did it have to be her?
Cyprus turned back to Cherry, who stood vacant and unmoved even as Praha rendered Lime unconscious, seeking confirmation.
“You were really bitten? By a zombie, that is?”
“Yes. But it didn’t tear into my flesh. I already had cloth wrapped around my arm at the time.”
“Then what about that wound? Where did the blood come from?”
“I was scratched.”
“Scratched? How did that happen?”
“I’m not sure. Everything was so chaotic.”
Cherry explained how, while evading and fighting off the reckless adults, she had somehow ended up in this state.
Cyprus, his expression still grave, sought clarification.
“So the wound came from fighting a zombie? But you’re uncertain whether it was from the zombie’s nails, or from scraping against something else?”
“That’s correct.”
“May I… examine the wound?”
“Yujein.”
Cyprus stopped Yujein, who was approaching Cherry bare-handed.
“It’s dangerous.”
“It’s fine. I too am blessed by the God of Light. Even if Cherry truly was… attacked by a zombie, I won’t be harmed the way you were.”
“Then I’ll observe from beside you.”
Cyprus stepped forward.
Cyprus and Yujein guided Cherry to an empty chair. The children who had arrived with Cherry lingered awkwardly around her.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t know. The adults said they need to check if our sister was bitten.”
Cyprus gestured for the children, who were bewildered by the adults’ gravity, to step back.
“Would you move away? It’s dangerous.”
Her tone lacked its usual playfulness.
Yujein carefully unwrapped the cloth binding Cherry’s wounded wrist as she extended her injured hand.
“…Hm.”
The condition was far more severe than I’d anticipated.
It appeared she’d struck her own wrist multiple times with her blade while trying to pry off a zombie that had clamped down on her arm and wouldn’t let go.
To have come all this way with an arm in that state.
Cyprus shook his head as he examined Cherry’s wounds.
“Multiple lacerations are layered on top of each other. It’s difficult to distinguish exactly what happened and how. It could be from a zombie, or it might not be.”
“You said your name was Cherry, right? Didn’t it hurt?”
“It did hurt. But I think you need to tell me something now.”
“….”
“What’s the problem with being bitten by those adults?”
“….”
Silence stretched between us.
I was the one who answered.
“When people transform like those adults do, we call it becoming a zombie. The condition is contagious, so….”
“You become a zombie too. If you’re bitten or scratched by one.”
Cyprus cut me off and finished the sentence I couldn’t bring myself to complete.
I shook my head, telling him not to, suggesting we call her aside to discuss it privately, but Cyprus didn’t stop.
“Everyone knows anyway.”
Cyprus spoke with finality, pronouncing judgment.
“The time it takes for the transformation to occur varies from person to person, but there are no exceptions.”
Words no different from a death sentence.
At those words, the children Cherry had brought, and even those who had lingered near her despite Cyprus’s warning, hastily retreated from her.
They acted reflexively, then stood bewildered, stealing glances at Cherry. But none of them stepped back toward her.
Only Cyprus and Yujein remained standing beside the now-isolated Cherry.
Cherry gazed around with indifference at the children she had rescued turning away from her.
“So this is what they mean when they say emotional wounds cut deeper than physical ones.”
I watched Cherry, who spoke with a bitter laugh, my heart breaking.
Cherry added with self-deprecation.
“I don’t think I was actually scratched by a zombie in a way that drew blood. I was bitten and grabbed, but the scratches came from forcing my way through a narrow wall, and I got pinched in a door too. …But no one will believe me if I say it now.”
How much I wished I could tell her I believed her.
‘No. I can’t let emotion cloud my judgment. I have to stay rational.’
One wrong move and we could all die. I couldn’t let compassion ruin everything.
I pressed my palms against my burning eyes and forced myself to focus only on the facts.
“Once… I saw someone who’d been bitten on the ankle by a zombie. They lasted quite a long time. If you were only scratched by a zombie, your incubation period might be longer than theirs. For now, if we just wait a bit….”
“Y-yes, that’s right!”
Yujein seized on my words.
“Let’s treat your wounds first. After that, I’ll get you food and clean clothes. There are lots of rooms upstairs. If you just rest alone there for a while….”
“How long?”
“About two days.”
It was Praha who stated the deadline.
“If he doesn’t mutate during that time, we can breathe easy.”
Noticing my gaze upon him, he added further.
“Before sending him back to the Island, we conducted an experiment using Papri as the subject.”
“Ah….”
That’s right. The Troublemaker had also been scratched to death by a zombie.
“That’s a good idea. We still have plenty of food and shelter anyway.”
“Yes. In the meantime, Cyprus will reduce the number of zombies roaming outside. Tangerine and I will educate the children.”
“That won’t work.”
Cherry cut off our attempt at optimism.
When I looked at her, she tugged at her earlobe.
Her earlobe had already turned red from the constant pulling—a nervous habit meant to hide her anxiety about possibly transforming just like the Island’s adults.
Cherry pointed at the key wedged in Yujein’s pants pocket.
“That key. The one that can operate the Tribute Ship.”
“Why the key…?”
“The magic enchantment on it has already expired. See how the tip of the key has turned black?”
At her words, Yujein hurriedly pulled out the key and placed it on her palm. Cyprus, looking down at the key beside her, nodded grimly.
“…You’re right. It’s gradually turning black even now.”
“Yes, so we need to hurry.”
Cherry, who emphasized the need to leave immediately, leaned against the back of her chair. All eyes were fixed on Cherry—the seventeen-year-old girl who had saved the Village’s children.
Children who had grown up together on the Island, and unfamiliar adults. As Cherry surveyed her surroundings and laid out the choices, her face remained serene.
“It’s simple.”
Unlike her trembling hands.
“Either trust me and take me with you, or leave me here alone.”
“….”
“….”
“What will you do, everyone?”
“Sister!”
Muffin, who had dropped the teddy bear she was holding, rushed toward Cherry. Praha intercepted the child before she could embrace Cherry, and holding the struggling, crying girl, soothed her with the gentlest voice he could muster.
“You can’t.”
“Let me go! I’m going with my sister!”
“Calm down.”
“Cherry’s infection is all my fault. In the first place, because I carelessly approached the Greenhouse, the zombies were released…. If Cherry stays here, I’ll stay too. We’ll both remain, so please escape the Island first.”
“Yujein, please calm yourself as well. Cyprus, why don’t you take the children and escape the Island first?”
“So you mean take the kids to the Mainland first, then find a new ship and come back to the Island?”
“Right. In the meantime, Yujein and I can stay here with her.”
“It’s not a bad idea, but….”
“R-really? Is that allowed?!”
“It seems to be our only option at this point.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible!”
“Tangerine?! When did you arrive?”
“I’ve just returned!”
“B-but why did you say it’s impossible?”
“Tangerine, do you have something to report?”
“The children fled here and led the zombies right to us. I’ve temporarily blocked the entrance, but it won’t hold for long.”
“I see…”
“There are no safe zones left on this Island. Whether it’s two of you or three, you must not stay. You need to escape immediately!”
“Then how do we get out of this Building?”
“There’s a Bell Tower on the top floor, and a Staircase leading directly to the Plaza from there! You need to go up and exit that way!”
“Then…”
“I’m destined to die here.”
Cherry’s breath caught sharply before she buried her face in her hands. Yujein wrapped her arms around the trembling child.
“We’re going to die here?!”
“Idiot, we don’t die! Shut your mouth!”
“Wahhh, Cherry!”
I stood alone in silence amid the chaos of the Lobby.
General, who had been wandering anxiously between people’s legs, bared his teeth at Cherry, then grew restless seeing her cry. The dog approached me and licked the back of my hand as if asking me to do something about it.
“…”
Think. Just think of something.
Think of anything, Yusara.
My wandering gaze landed on an object Praha had carelessly placed on the table.
I looked at Praha. Even with his back turned, he sensed my gaze with uncanny precision and turned to face me.
“Is there something you wish to discuss?”
“…Please don’t laugh at what I’m about to say.”
“I won’t.”
I pointed at the table with a resolute expression.
I spoke to Praha, whose gaze followed my finger, and to Cyprus, Yujein, and Tangerine, who were already looking my way.
“What if we put that Neckalace on Cherry and take her with us?”
[Inhabited Island]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine, General, Muffin, Pickle and others (Surviving)
– Cherry (???)

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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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