I Reincarnated Into a Healing Game… and It’s a Zombie Apocalypse?! - Chapter 73

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 73

When the King returned after being away for a long time, the ethnic minorities of Ratnagar welcomed him warmly.

To them, Ishanka was not simply a king.

The incarnation of Aibanu, the god of war and victory.

A being who inherited the will of the gods.

Through him, the ethnic minorities were able to gather their scattered forces like small seeds to finally establish a nation, and even when disaster swept the world, they were able to survive on this land.

Perhaps that was why.

The ethnic minorities regarded Ishanka not as a simple ruler, but as an apostle bearing a sacred mission, sometimes as the being closest to god.

The gazes directed at him were mixed with awe, emotion, and blind faith.

However, Ishanka was not always pleased with such gazes.

Capital Sahath.

In the heart of the city, a magnificent mansion.

Ishanka sat in front of his desk.

His fingertips were turning through documents, but his mind was wandering elsewhere.

Formal approvals, endless coordination of civil complaints.

The necessary work to lead a newly born nation.

He had to organize the city, unite the scattered ethnic minorities, and properly establish the shaking foundation.

Everything needed him.

But.

‘…I miss Nana.’

Since that day, she had changed somehow.

At first glance, she seemed no different from before, but somewhere in her eyes, a deep shadow had fallen.

Not knowing what was troubling her or where she was looking made him even more anxious and worried.

He wanted to be by her side.

He wanted to protect her always within arm’s reach.

However, he was a king.

Responsibility came before emotion.

Ishanka quietly put down his pen and looked out the window.

That’s when it happened.

“You’ve changed a lot since getting some fresh air outside, brother.”

He turned his head at the familiar voice.

A brown-haired man with gentle features, Ezion, stood there holding documents in his arms.

Ishanka chuckled and gestured.

“Stop teasing me, Ezion.”

“I’m not joking.”

Ezion smiled as he placed the documents on the desk.

“At first, I thought someone else was pretending to be you and had returned.”

Another pile of documents accumulated neatly on the desk.

He thought he had just organized them, but they were piling up again.

Ishanka looked down at the pile indifferently, then suddenly let out an irritated sigh.

Ezion seemed to read his irritated expression and laughed mischievously.

“The person who used to silently process work no matter how much piled up is now sighing like this. It’s really refreshing.”

“Even I can’t live unchanging like a stone forever.”

Ishanka glanced over the documents as if sweeping them with his eyes.

“You’re amazing for handling all this while I was away. Now I should learn your secret methods.”

“Oh, are you finally recognizing my true worth?”

Ezion tapped the desk playfully like a joke.

“If you had said this earlier, I would have at least requested overtime pay.”

“That’s why I took care of you. You’re now this country’s prime minister and second-in-command.”

“That’s not taking care of me, that’s dumping it on me.”

Ezion said with a deliberately wronged expression.

“The position of prime minister may look impressive on the outside, but it’s not a job where you can just play around.”

Brief laughter passed between them.

“But you know, brother.”

“Hmm?”

“You seem to be constantly thinking about someone lately.”

Ishanka’s fingertips paused for a moment.

“Could it be that kingdom lady?”

Ishanka quietly looked at Ezion, then slowly closed his eyes.

That brief silence said more than any answer could.

Ezion was momentarily stunned, then waved his hands and exclaimed.

“You’re joking, right?! Brother, who used to see even that absolutely beautiful Daran Tribe lady as less than a roadside pebble, surely not!”

The Daran Tribe lady.

Her name and face were blurry.

Even when he tried to recall, he couldn’t remember.

But Nana was vivid even with his eyes closed.

Apricot-colored hair that held warm sunlight.

Eyes that resembled the quiet sky.

The corners of her eyes that folded prettily whenever she smiled.

A woman who seemed close enough to touch if he reached out, yet always remained one step beyond.

Her small, delicate body, the stubbornness and courage hidden within.

The firmness that refused to yield to anything.

All of it gradually penetrated deep into Ishanka’s heart.

She was an existence that couldn’t be fully explained by any flowery words. She was on a different dimension from simply being beautiful or pitiful.

A person he wanted to protect without any reason or calculation. A person he wanted to embrace tightly with both hands.

And a person he never wanted to lose again.

Ishanka suddenly stood up from his seat.

“B-brother?”

Ezion, who was organizing documents, looked up in surprise.

“…I should go see the palace construction site in person.”

“What? The status reports are all here though?”

“Seeing it on paper and seeing it directly are different things.”

Ishanka hurriedly grabbed his coat as if snatching it and strode out of the study.

The door closed and silence briefly flowed through the study. Ezion stared blankly at the closed door and muttered.

“…Is that really the brother I knew?”

Isn’t it really someone else in disguise who came in?

His gaze fell onto the desk. A mountain of documents requiring approval greeted him.

“But surely I don’t have to process all of this, right?”

A hollow laugh escaped.

“…That’s got to be a joke, right?”

Ezion spoke as if throwing the words into the air.

Of course, no answer came back.

* * *

Nana slowly walked along the village alley.

Her body had already fully recovered, but she had snuck out of the house without Grandma Rosha knowing, who would scold that it would be terrible if a patient caught the cold wind.

‘I’m not a patient who’s on death’s door, and if I stay in the room every day, I’ll grow mold.’

Nana stretched lightly as she looked around the narrow alley.

A cold wind brushed against her cheek, and the scent of a bonfire drifted from somewhere.

She walked slowly, then stopped after taking a step.

And she muttered so quietly that no one could hear.

“…Quest.”

【System is in deactivated state.】

As expected, it doesn’t work.

Nana let out a small sigh and was about to take another step when she turned her head at an unfamiliar gaze she felt from behind.

Beyond the door crack, behind the fence.

A few small children poked their heads out, then quickly hid again in surprise when their eyes met Nana’s.

And a few seconds later, they poked their heads out again.

“….”

The sound of footsteps approaching stealthily.

Nana stopped walking and turned her head to see three small shadows gathered together.

Small children who only came up to about her waist.

The child standing in front hesitated, then carefully approached.

“…Are you from the Kingdom?”

Nana blinked her eyes and gently nodded. The children looked at each other and murmured.

“It’s real.”

“I’ve never seen one before.”

“So white….”

Eyes filled with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

Nana smiled gently and lowered her knees to match the children’s eye level.

“I might look a little different from the people here, but I’m an ordinary person who cries when sad and laughs when happy, just like the people here. So there’s no need to be afraid.”

When she spoke kindly, the bravest-looking child among them stepped forward.

And after hesitating for a moment, he reached out and lightly touched the hem of Nana’s clothes.

“See, I didn’t breathe fire or anything when I touched you, right?”

When Nana smiled brightly, a bright smile spread across the child’s face too.

Curiosity ultimately conquers fear. The children who had been watching this scene no longer hesitated and came running over to surround her.

“Are you really from the Kingdom?”

“How did you get here?”

“Does the sky there sparkle?”

Small voices burst out, pushing against each other.

Nana smiled carefully.

“Yes, I came from the Kingdom.”

When she gently nodded, the children’s eyes widened.

“The Kingdom had huge castles unlike here, and the clothes were different too.”

Nana continued speaking.

“The sky is always full of dark clouds just like here. But there were times in the past when it used to sparkle brightly.”

As she answered each question thoughtfully, the children’s eyes sparkled as they bombarded her with questions.

“Are there monsters in the Kingdom too? We have dragons here!”

“Is the Kingdom’s language difficult?”

Nana answered each one calmly.

“There are no monsters in the Kingdom, but sometimes we called scary people that. And the language you use is much cuter.”

The children giggled.

The tension from just moments ago had completely disappeared.

“Tell us more stories!”

“Can you sing us a Kingdom song?”

As the children tugged at her sleeves from all sides, Nana finally burst into laughter.

Someone was quietly watching this scene from a distance.

It was Ishanka.

Ishanka stood there quietly, holding his breath.

Nana laughing.

Her melting into the children like sunlight.

She was so dazzling that even when he closed his eyes, her afterimage remained.

His heart tightened.

His breath caught somewhere in his throat and became unsteady.

He wanted to run over and hold her in his arms immediately.

He didn’t want to lose her.

“Hehe, how passionate, so passionate.”

He snapped back to his senses at the familiar voice from behind.

When the startled Ishanka turned his head, Rosha was standing there leisurely with her arms crossed.

“Look at this century’s great lover. You’re going to bore a hole through her, kid.”

Ishanka awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and avoided her gaze.

“…It’s not like that.”

“What do you mean it’s not like that? Whatever.”

Rosha clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“If you’re just going to peek from here, you might as well go out and face her properly.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Rosha pushed Ishanka’s back hard. Caught off guard by the unexpected force, Ishanka stumbled forward.

“Huh? Isha?”

Nana smiled brightly and waved at Ishanka.

“What brings you here?”

Nana couldn’t hide her joy at this unexpected reunion.

Seeing this, the children all crowded behind Nana.

Small hands tugged at her sleeves as they whispered.

“Who is he, who is he?”

“Wow, he’s tall. He’s cool.”

Nana turned toward the children with a smile on her lips.

“Yes, Isha is.”

Nana hesitated for a moment at the words that lingered on the tip of her lips.

‘Isha is…?’

As she was about to answer carelessly, she felt one side of her chest trembling.

Friend.

Colleague.

She had always thought of him that way.

But now, her feelings toward this person standing in front of the children were emotions that couldn’t be fully expressed with words like precious or cherished.

‘Ah.’

Nana realized.

Isha is someone I like.

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