A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 118

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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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“You cowardly wretches, and you call yourselves human?”
“….”
“Why discriminate against people? Does it make sense to discriminate when lives are at stake?”
“….”
“Why won’t you give me food? I’m lying here collapsed! Shouldn’t you at least ask if I’m okay? That’s basic human decency!”
“….”
“I wouldn’t treat a complete stranger like this! But you take care of her like that!”
Lime’s trembling fingers, quivering with resentment, pointed at Cherry.
I stared at Lime, who was wailing with her entire face crumpled like a child’s, utterly dumbfounded.
You really are a complete stranger to us….
“When we escaped the Island at first, no one even asked me to come with you! Yesterday, you told me to find dry clothes on my own!”
???
So I’m supposed to sit still while you all gently coax and comfort me so my pride isn’t hurt, invite me to come along, and bring me clothes…?
Why should we…?
“What’s so hard about taking care of one more thing!”
And the person she was pointing at was Cherry again.
“Why do you only favor her like that!”
Lime was so indignant that I had to pause and wonder if we’d truly been cruel to an innocent person.
“My wrists are thinner than hers! So why did I have to be the one thrown into the sea!”
But no matter how much I thought about it, all of it was Lime’s own karma.
She’d driven out a seventeen-year-old girl to die, stayed safely in the hideout herself while sending the children out to find food, regularly banished the ones she didn’t like to intimidate the rest, and when told someone had to go, she immediately tried to throw the children into the sea….
I’m speaking lightly about it now, but in summary, it was attempted murder….
And she’s not even thinking about all those actions….
She’s just upset that people didn’t take care of her?
“Do I need to say something?”
Cherry, who had suddenly become Lime’s target, blinked her eyes.
“No.”
I cut her off firmly and caught the strawberry jam that was about to drip onto Cherry’s collar with my hand.
No one responded to Lime’s wailing.
The children just stared with wide eyes, while Tangerine and Praha simply ate their bread.
“It tastes better this way!”
When Tangerine showed us by stacking two slices of bread and taking a big bite, Yujein followed suit. Then Praha, having learned the trick, came to me and suggested I try eating two slices stacked together.
“It tastes better this way, apparently.”
Cyprus? After laughing once at first, he’s been elegantly sipping milk tea.
Me? I….
Honestly, I couldn’t care less.
‘Anyway, once we leave the ship, there’s no reason we’ll see each other again. She couldn’t endure a few hours of discomfort and had to burst out demanding we understand her hurt feelings.’
She must have been incredibly spoiled growing up.
So I just stared at Lime. Wondering how far she’d go.
Then our eyes met.
Looking at me with eyes of utter disdain, Lime shrieked indignantly.
“Just you wait! I’ll make you regret treating me like this!”
“Oh….”
“I’ll have my revenge. I’ll destroy everything!”
With that declaration, Lime pulled something wrapped in a wet sock from his pocket.
A finger.
A zombie’s finger, its tip grotesquely mangled as if it had been struck dozens of times with something stone-hard and torn apart.
“It… it belonged to the one who grabbed my ankle…. I thought it might be useful, so I kept it.”
Lime laughed triumphantly.
“So, does this make you want to listen to what I have to say now?”
As if.
Can’t you see Cyprus approaching from behind you with a blade drawn?
This was apparently Lime’s trump card, but….
“There’s only one thing I want.”
Lime jerked his chin toward Cherry.
“For her to get off this ship.”
“….”
Cyprus continuing to approach.
“You refuse? If you refuse, I’ll throw her off myself.”
“….”
Cyprus still closing in.
“Ha, ha, hahaha…!”
The moment Lime sprang to his feet and lunged toward Cherry—
“Woof!”
General, who had been eating a fish Cyprus had stolen from the corner, came charging at Lime.
“Yip!”
As Lime tried to kick at the dog lunging for his thigh, he suddenly lost his footing on the slippery deck and stumbled.
At that very moment, the ship lurched violently as a powerful wave struck it.
“Whoa? Wh… whoa whoa whoa!”
Both Lime, who was precariously balanced on one leg, and Cherry, who had half-risen in anticipation of Lime’s approach, staggered together.
“Sister Cherry!”
“Big sister!”
The children sitting nearby rushed toward Cherry, firmly grasping her arms to keep her from being flung overboard.
The ship, weighted to one side, lurched and swayed once more.
Lime, still in the motion of kicking the puppy with his leg raised, tumbled backward.
Cyprus reached out quickly, but all he managed to recover was the finger wrapped in the sock.
Whirrrrr—
The sound of the propulsion device that allowed this ship to move at high speed, rotating dozens of times per minute.
Before anyone could do anything, the seawater turned red.
“…Good heavens.”
“….”
“….”
“Cherry, are you alright?”
“…Yes, I’m fine.”
Cherry appeared dazed.
She gazed down at the children’s hands gripping her arm like they were playing tug-of-war, her voice trailing off in a murmur.
“…They helped me.”
“….”
“So I wouldn’t fall.”
“….”
“Lime was on the other side.”
‘The inevitable outcome.’
Cherry, who had continued helping others even in crisis, versus Lime, who had pushed others aside to save himself alone. Which one would the children choose to help?
One person carried the belief that if I save them now, they’ll save me next time. The other would betray me without hesitation if our positions were reversed, no matter how much I’d helped them.
The children instinctively understood this, so they acted this way unconsciously.
In a crisis where no one could survive alone to the end, kindness was also the most intelligent survival strategy.
‘I hope Cherry’s depleted humanity recovers at least a little from this.’
“…Sister Cherry, I’m sorry.”
Muffin spoke as she released Cherry’s arm, which she’d been gripping so tightly it left nail marks.
“I’m sorry for just watching when you were driven out… I’m sorry for avoiding you when you came back. I’m sorry for never saying thank you all this time.”
“That’s right. We’re sorry.”
“We did wrong….”
“…It’s okay.”
Cherry answered, tugging at her earlobe.
“You did the right thing. If someone might be infected, you have to avoid them. You just did what you were taught… and because of that, we all made it out alive.”
“Still.”
“…These children are still too young to be dealing with something like this.”
“That’s true.”
I nodded at Cyprus, who had approached without me noticing.
Nine years old, thirteen years old, at most seventeen. They’re at an age where they shouldn’t have to worry about things like this yet. They should only be concerned with whether they forgot their homework, whether that person they like likes them back, hating their mom—things like that.
“Whoever is responsible for making these children go through this… I want to take revenge on them.”
Praha and Cyprus tilted their heads in unison as they watched me murmur while the children finally broke down in tears.
“Whoever it is?”
“Yes. Whoever it is.”
“I will help.”
“….”
“It will be done as you desire.”
I looked up at Praha, who promised to do whatever I wanted without even knowing who the target was. His gaze was calm. There wasn’t a shred of pretense in his sincerity.
Our eyes met like that.
“Can I help too?”
I was turning to look at Cyprus, who was asking in an uncharacteristically uncertain voice.
“Why is that place like that?!”
Tangerine shot to her feet, waving the bread she’d been holding and shouting. Yujein, struck on the forehead by strawberry jam flying from the bread, blinked before jumping up herself.
I turned my head to follow where both their gazes were directed.
“What?!”
The Harbor Village visible in the distance was burning!
* * *
“A raid?!”
“Yes. A small Pirate Band came overnight and plundered everything. They even set fires as a finishing touch.”
“For a seaside village, they should have anticipated something like this happening eventually… but apparently they made no preparations beforehand?”
“They probably did make some preparations, but everyone would have been asleep at that hour. Usually, when outsiders sneak in, the dogs they keep bark first to alert them.”
“This village doesn’t have any dogs.”
“Exactly.”
“They were too stingy to share even a small fish, and now they’ve paid the full price for it.”
Cherry remarked sarcastically, still hugging General tightly—who had become her close friend somewhere along the way.
Once again, kindness proved to be the wisest survival strategy.
“So that’s how it happened….”
I looked around the village reduced to ashes. In the distance, the Old Man who had pretended to take care of General only to try to kill him was limping away.
The moment we disembarked, there was no time to even ask what happened—we fetched water to extinguish the fires, helped the people. We’d barely caught our breath when this situation arose.
“Cough.”
Muffin and Pickle, who had insisted on coming down despite my warning that breathing smoke wasn’t good for them, were coughing. I brushed the dirt clinging to the top of Muffin’s head and asked.
“Wouldn’t it be better to go to the Local Lord’s Castle and send people to handle the aftermath?”
“Yes! Honestly, it feels like they brought it on themselves! But they’re the type to obsess over their own safety, so they’ve probably already called for help!”
“If the Crown Prince takes action, it will be resolved much faster.”
“Yes. And we should leave.”
“We should.”
We have children we’re responsible for. We needed to get to a nearby City quickly and find new guardians for them.
“Then let’s stop by the Lord’s Castle on our way.”
We concluded it that way and were about to leave.
“Wait, wait, wait—I knew I’d seen that girl somewhere!”
If only the Old Man, who had been walking in a daze, hadn’t pointed in this direction.
“That ominous one! What is this place?!”
‘Here we go again?’
Naturally assuming he meant me, I let out a deep sigh and turned around.
“Huh…?”
Unexpectedly, the person the Old Man was pointing at was not me.
[Village Reduced to Ashes]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine, Cherry, General, Muffin, and others (Alive)
– Lime (Deceased)

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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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