A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 123

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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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Praha, who usually threw on whatever clothes were lying around, had dressed up like an actor attending a film festival.
What words could possibly capture this moment?
Clothes make the man? (X)
: That man looks handsome even without them—like he has wings. He might actually look better without clothes… though I wouldn’t know.
A pumpkin carved into a watermelon? (X)
: He was a watermelon from the start.
There’s no such thing as an ugly man, only unmade-up ones! (X)
: No, he’s not ugly, I’m telling you. Are your eyes broken?
A handsome man’s transformation is blameless! (O)
: Thrilling. Always fresh. Handsomeness is supreme.
“Wow….”
The women who had been about to leave the recreation room turned to look at Praha. They had gasped when Cyprus appeared, but now they seemed utterly entranced.
They stared at Praha as if bewitched, then couldn’t help but sigh deeply and shake their heads.
I understood the meaning of those sighs all too well.
His hair, which he usually wore down casually or tied back neatly, was now styled to reveal only half his forehead. He wore a military-style navy jacket with a matching tie.
The shirt visible beneath the jacket, which fit perfectly at the shoulders and waist, was clearly a size too small for Praha’s frame.
This made the muscles hidden beneath the fabric visible, completing the look perfectly.
Below that, his long legs stood out prominently, and the tie—which I wanted to tighten around his neck—had a golden stripe running down it.
His skin looked like porcelain today, whatever he’d applied to it, and his amber eyes gleamed above it. When those eyes turned toward the women sighing heavily, they startled and fled.
Slam!
The recreation room door shut.
I understood that feeling—the panic of running away when a handsome man suddenly looks at you.
Our group didn’t react much differently, to be honest.
“Wow….”
“Phew….”
I had jumped to my feet long ago, Yujein’s cheeks were flushed as she fanned herself, Tangerine’s mouth hung open, and even Cyprus let out a whistle.
Only exclamations poured out; no one managed to form actual words.
Seeing our speechless reaction, Praha tilted his head slightly.
“Is something wrong?”
“No!”
I waved my hands seriously. How could there be?
The casual clothes he usually wore, even with the harness, and the red outfit with dangling ornaments I’d seen at the Imperial Palace—both looked great. But when he dressed intentionally like this, so perfectly coordinated, it was truly… truly….
“Wow.”
I feel like I’m the male lead chaebol in a drama right now.
Taking the poor female lead to a department store, buying her clothes, staring at my phone with a bored expression, then when she comes out in new clothes, my eyes go wide with amazement….
Of course, the chaebol here is Praha (and me? I’m a pauper!).
Plus, these clothes were bought with Praha’s money (Praha’s money, Praha’s purchase).
I didn’t even pick them out—the Boutique Owner forced them on me… but that’s how it feels….
Cyprus, who had gotten up and touched Praha’s sleeve, spoke.
“I need to buy clothes here too. Better than most Southern Region designers. What’s the name of that boutique?”
“You need to disappear.”
“Why! Let’s both look amazing together!”
Tell me! Tell me! Ignoring Cyprus, who was whining, Praha naturally took the seat across from me. The table was so narrow our knees almost touched.
Until that moment, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Praha, and when our eyes met, I startled and quickly turned my head away.
“Were you examining the map?”
Praha, addressing me with that question, seemed oddly pleased. His meticulously groomed hair framed clean, white ears that stood out distinctly. He was even wearing earrings. He must be insane.
His ears were beautiful too.
‘So I’m attracted to a man with half-long hair.’
“Y-yes….”
Unable to meet his gaze directly, I stammered and desperately tried to redirect my attention elsewhere.
“I synthesized what Cherry told us with everything we’ve experienced during our investigation.”
Stay calm.
I’m here to work, and I’m in the middle of an important meeting.
The handsome man before me is simply a colleague….
‘No way!’
There’s no man that handsome at our company! Even if I searched all of Yeouido, there isn’t one! All the men at our company have beer bellies!
“Anyway.”
Since I was trembling, I pushed forward the paper with hastily scribbled notes, telling him to look here instead of staring at my face. Four pairs of eyes followed my finger.
“When the Imperial Palace held that meeting before, we came up with several hypotheses about what might have caused the zombie outbreak.”
Cyprus, Yujein, and Tangerine weren’t present that day, so I’ll assume they don’t know and explain again.
“The hypotheses were as follows.”
[What caused the zombie outbreak?]
Hypothesis 1. An assassination attempt targeting the Imperial Family.
(Bioterrorism or magic)
Hypothesis 2. A naturally occurring plague.
Hypothesis 3. A curse from God.
“Among these, Hypothesis 3 was eliminated because Yujein awakened additional divine power during our escape from the Zombie Villa on the Artificial Island.”
If this were truly a curse from God, there’s no way God would have helped us then.
“But Yujein’s power was confirmed to be magic, not divine power!”
“Tangerine is right. It wasn’t God who helped us back then.”
It was Yujein’s will to save her colleagues.
“Then.”
“Yes, we need to reconsider Hypothesis 3, which we had eliminated.”
I rewrote Hypothesis 3, which I had crossed out.
“Add Cherry’s testimony that she could foresee the Underworld God’s actions and avoid disaster? The hypothesis we excluded becomes the strongest one.”
[What caused the zombie outbreak?]
Hypothesis 1. An assassination attempt targeting the Imperial Family.
(Bioterrorism or magic)
Hypothesis 2. A naturally occurring plague.
☆Hypothesis 3. A curse from God.☆
“Of course, Cherry’s dream could simply be a premonition. The Underworld God might have sent the dream to protect a child he cherished. But.”
“Considering that family peeked into the God’s affairs and received a curse that turned them silver-haired!”
“Yes. It’s more reasonable to interpret it as a curse rather than protection. What other counterarguments could be raised against Hypothesis 3?”
I twirled the pen in my hand while surveying the group.
“However, Grand Duke, those who receive the God’s favor aren’t attacked by zombies, are they?”
“What if, because the God commands the zombies, they simply don’t touch the humans he favors?”
“A-and also.”
Yujein interjected.
“If this is the work of a specific God, then since the Grand Duke has received the favor of the God of Marriage and Beauty, the God wouldn’t touch humans who belong to another deity.”
“That makes sense.”
Cyprus nodded in agreement.
Praha, whose handsome eyes had narrowed lethally, spoke.
“Then the God behind this is almost certainly the Underworld God.”
“It could be the God of Light, though.”
“Why do you say that, Yujein?”
“The Underworld God and the God of Light are… a kind of twins, or rather like light and shadow. Two sides of the same coin.”
“It wasn’t for nothing that Yujein was called a saint, was it? So knowledgeable.”
“Hehe.”
“Then Yujein, have the Gods ever interfered in human affairs like this before?”
“Yes, yes! A prime example would be the Ancient Labyrinth we visited…”
That’s right. Unlike the God of Earth, who never answers no matter how much one prays, the Gods of this world possess personalities and maintain a considerably close distance to humans.
Though this is a tangent, the God I made a contract with is precisely the God of Light.
I had been eagerly hoping to seize an opportunity to speak with that God by asking Yujein, the Priest of the God of Light, to arrange it…
‘That plan fell through once Yujein was revealed to be a mage.’
Whether it’s the Underworld God or that twin called the God of Light—if these Gods I made a contract with while I was under guardianship have even scattered zombies across this world.
If they’re the cause of all this tragedy I’ve experienced since my regression.
I don’t think I could ever forgive them.
‘A God that doesn’t answer would be a hundred times better.’
I muttered to myself and scribbled on the paper.
Cause of the Zombie Outbreak
= God’s Curse.
Which God?
= Underworld God. (Or God of Light)
Cyprus tilted his head.
“Did we do something to deserve a curse?”
“….”
“….”
Everyone fell silent at his question. Even Cyprus himself, who had asked it, seemed to find his own answer, laughing with a ha-ha and nodding.
Our Emperor drove all the Temples outside the Capital, and that wasn’t enough—he destroyed every Temple of the Underworld God to build a Villa there…
Praha spoke.
“Previously, I conveyed a method to prevent zombies to an Imperial administrator I met in Promé. By now, the Emperor is likely formulating countermeasures. Even if it’s not the approach you’d prefer.”
“But if we keep going like this, we’ll be too late.”
Without discovering how cities are selected to be “cursed,” we can only wait until each city falls and then clean up the aftermath.
“Hmm….”
This is driving me insane.
I pressed my head between my hands and stared at the map.
“Two places already destroyed…. Three if we count Sodom.”
With so few samples, it’s nearly impossible to discern a pattern.
It’s like being given three numbers and asked to find the sequence rule.
I examined the marked villages on the map as if deciphering an idol music video.
“Wait.”
I think I’ve figured it out.
[While the adults were in their meeting]
Muffin: Crying while dreaming of her dead parents
Pickle: Pretending not to notice Muffin crying in the next bed
Cheese: Wiping her sleeping sibling’s mouth
Cherry: Bathing General (not easy)

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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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