A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 159

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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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A space where the ceiling opens to the sky, allowing light to pour in unobstructed.
Verdant rose vines adorning the entire wall.
Though driven to the mountainside by other deities and forced to live in poverty, the Priesthood’s devotion remained absolute.
Seeing the spacious chamber, meticulously maintained despite the passage of years, I could appreciate the lengths the Priests had gone to.
A Temple that replaced the inability to adorn with precious jewels by substituting light, flowers, and water instead.
A pond positioned at the center of the room, receiving light directly from above, with crimson flowers floating upon its surface.
Though no one had set foot here for years, the flowers remained vibrant, nourished by the sunlight and rainwater cascading from the ceiling.
…This was the story of the Altar where I now found myself in isolation.
“How is your body?”
I had been lost in contemplation of the dreamlike interior, reminiscent of a forest dwelling, when a voice from behind startled me and I turned my head.
“Praha, you can’t come in here.”
“If there is any discomfort, please tell me.”
“Your coming in right now is the discomfort. I said you can’t.”
If you just waltz in like this, what’s the point of isolating me?
‘Oh, oh, oh sister…!’
‘Shh! Don’t make a sound!’
A mission that ended in utter failure.
Melon and Cheese were dead, and zombie blood had splattered across my eyes.
I’m not entirely certain it was zombie blood.
In my panic, I’d gripped the blade awkwardly and swung it, slicing through my own palm in the process.
Whether what entered my eyes was human blood, zombie blood, or both—I couldn’t say.
We chose isolation as our method.
‘How long until the mutation begins?’
‘Don’t say such terrible things, Yusara!’
‘Just in case, I’ll go in there. Will you lock the door from outside?’
I left the rest of the group at the Temple Entrance and entered the chamber alone where the Altar stood.
I wish I had a neck collar or something, but Cherry had taken that earlier.
Praha, seeing me sitting by the pond bathed in light, tilted his head to the side.
“Your palm—does it not hurt?”
“My palm or whatever… Why aren’t you closing the door?”
“Because you’re in isolation.”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you to leave…”
He really doesn’t listen.
Praha, ignoring my polite request to leave, brushed his sleeve once and came toward me anyway.
He sat down carefully beside me, who was dangling my feet in the pond.
“This defeats the entire purpose of isolation, doesn’t it?”
I shifted my hips to create distance.
As I retreated, Praha leaned in beside me.
“Don’t come closer. What if I mutate and bite you?”
You want to become a zombie?
I warned him with that in mind, but Praha just blinks.
“Are you referring to me?”
“Yes! You, Praha!”
“Me…?”
“Why?”
“Because of our height difference, when I reach out my arm like this, my teeth won’t reach… I apologize.”
“….”
“I wasn’t trying to be dismissive.”
“I’ve already been dismissed enough.”
Fair point.
Whether I’m human or zombie, I’d have a hard time biting Praha… the physical difference is just too much….
After getting hit with an unintended truth, I simply closed my mouth.
Fine. Do as you please.
I gazed silently at the water rippling around my ankles.
Just to clarify, I’m perfectly clean right now.
I’d resigned myself to the possibility that zombie blood might have splattered on me, but I wasn’t about to risk actually getting infected by having contaminated blood enter my mouth.
After washing myself and putting on a priest’s vestments I found somewhere in the Temple, I simply removed my dirty shoes.
I wiggled my bare feet submerged in the water.
Praha suddenly pulled something from his pocket and held it out to me.
It was an apple.
“Please, have this.”
“Huh. Where did you get this?”
“They were growing fruits and vegetables in the Backyard.”
“Oh.”
A failed Temple wouldn’t receive donations, so they must have been growing these to be self-sufficient.
Anyway, telling me to eat, Praha polished the apple on his sleeve and leaned slightly toward me.
The distance that was already close becomes even closer. Like me, Praha had only recently bathed.
A pleasant fragrance emanated from his not-quite-dry hair.
We’d both washed with the same poor-quality soap from the well, yet I couldn’t understand why only Praha smelled so good.
‘I wonder if I smell like that too.’
I awkwardly touched my damp hair before accepting the apple.
“What about you, Praha?”
“I don’t like apples.”
“That’s a lie. You’re not picky about anything.”
Wouldn’t it be better for Praha, who has a higher chance of surviving, to eat rather than putting food in my stomach when I might become a zombie soon?
“Let’s share it.”
“Actually, I’ve already eaten.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’m full.”
“….”
That doesn’t seem to be the case.
“I’m serious. The apple goes all the way up to here.”
Praha pointed to his neck with a grave expression.
“…I understand.”
I reluctantly bit into the apple.
Crunch.
It’s delicious.
“How is it?”
“You said you’d already tasted it?”
“Oh.”
“It’s delicious. Sweet.”
“There’s more.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then you should have that one, Praha.”
For a while, we shared the apple in silence.
The crisp fragrance drifting through the air.
Warm sunlight pouring down from above, the water’s surface gleaming as it caught the light. The atmosphere was bright, serene, and radiant.
I’d expected that facing death would reduce me to a blubbering mess, throwing dignity to the wind, but I found myself surprisingly composed.
‘I don’t want to show weakness in front of Praha.’
I’m concentrating all my willpower, wondering if mental strength alone could overcome the zombie transformation. The moment I sense anything wrong with my body, I’ll force all my strength into my mind.
If I’d known it would come to this, I should have paid more attention to Cherry. I couldn’t even comfort her properly, using the urgency of the situation as an excuse.
“What about Cyprus?”
“He’s sleeping.”
“Is he alright?”
“Yes. His breathing and pulse are normal. He’s simply asleep from exhaustion.”
“That’s a relief. What about the others?”
“Pochacha has lost consciousness, and Cheese’s Sibling doesn’t seem to fully understand the situation. The others are washing up and looking for a way out of here.”
“I see… Has everyone eaten something?”
“They’ve eaten fruit.”
“Did you come here planning to end it yourself if I transform?”
“….”
“I don’t want to die by Praha’s hand twice.”
“…Twice?”
I stood up, avoiding Praha’s gaze as his brow furrowed.
“The Altar is this way.”
I turned my back to Praha and walked forward.
The Altar in this Temple was constructed to face downward rather than upward.
Stones were stacked downward like a circular arena, and water filled the center.
I knelt before the transparent, luminous water that required no caretaker, and plunged my hands into the crystal basin at its center.
“Do you see what’s written here? It’s ancient script.”
I gestured for him to come closer.
Praha rose slowly and approached the Altar.
I watched him walk without making a sound.
Slender and graceful. Quiet and dignified. His posture impeccable. The black sword he always carried moved freely in his hand as if it were part of his body.
If Praha had to kill me again, would he use his sword?
Or his own two hands?
“I can read this now.”
I deliberately spoke with forced brightness, scattering my thoughts.
“I’ve been studying hard all this time.”
“….”
“Let me read it for you.”
[The more I understand how vast this world is, the more I realize how infinitesimal the odds were that you and I could ever meet.
Now that we have found each other, I never want to be apart again.
A thousand springs, a thousand summers, and a thousand winters.
Even if the world around us transforms entirely, I hold your hand so that we shall never be separated.]
“…I understand what this is.”
I turned to face Praha.
“There’s a sacred relic of the God of Beauty and Marriage in this place.”
“….”
“It’s a sacred relic that binds two lovers eternally so they never part. We can’t see it now, but it might react when Cyprus enters.”
“….”
“Aren’t you going to ask how I knew there was a relic here?”
I stood up and faced Praha directly.
“You know what I wanted to tell you? Can I say it now?”
“…No.”
“If not now, there might never be another chance.”
I wanted to reveal the truth, not make a deathbed confession.
But I desperately needed to tell him.
That I truly loved you, and because of you, I even turned back time itself.
So….
“No. I won’t listen.”
“But you said you wanted to hear it.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to hear it.”
“….”
“There will certainly be another opportunity. So whatever you were about to say, leave this place first. Leave, and tell me then.”
Praha turned away.
“There should be a blanket somewhere. I’ll find one and bring it to you. If you need anything before then, knock on the door.”
I called out after Praha as he strode from the room as if fleeing.
“I turned back time.”
[(Safe Zone) Temple with Sacred Relic]
– Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine, Aspara, Muffin, Cheese’s Younger Sibling, Pochacha (Alive)
– Yusara (???)

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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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