ESMLT 12

Chapter 12

“Well, I can’t deny that. But don’t be biased, Duke. Couldn’t this just be a disaster?”

That was a fair point as well.

But…

Jaeger fixed Redria with his ice-cold gaze.

“Perhaps that woman might be involved in this situation.”

She was always doing outrageous things, after all.

The Crown Prince raised one side of his mouth.

“Hmmm, but if she’s suspicious, wouldn’t we be equally suspicious?”

“But that woman seems unusually calm, as if she knows all about these incidents. And the weapons and scrolls cannot be explained as just being for monster hunting.”

Richard’s eyes landed on Redria’s waist.

Just as Jaeger said.

In fact, it wasn’t so much how she had the weapons that was suspicious—it was why she had them.

A zombie outbreak, and she just happens to have weapons and warp scrolls…

And in a restricted weapons area, no less.

Truly peculiar timing.

Jaeger interpreted the silence as agreement and spoke.

“It would be better for us to manage her belongings ourselves.”

“That’s enough. Looting is not right.”

Richard, looking straight ahead, said calmly.

At that moment, Redria wrapped her arms around herself and crouched slightly.

Richard’s hand, removing his jacket to cover her, was quite tender. Seeing this, Jaeger scowled and shifted his stance.

“…Seems you’ve grown quite fond of her in the meantime.”

“The Duke is strangely hostile toward the young lady. Isn’t she deserving of kindness, considering the help she’s given you?”

“Are you sure she’s offering goodwill without any ulterior motives?”

“I hope she is.”

From the darkness, her lemon-colored eyes glinted like a predatory bird’s. If not, things could get awkward.

“….”

Jaeger gritted his teeth, staring at the back of Richard’s head with sharp, misty eyes.

“Do as you wish. If you end up regretting being captivated by that woman, it won’t be my responsibility.”

His voice dripped with chill as the wind blew, leaves rattling eerily.

“This is the back gate entrance of the northern shelter, according to the map.”

I checked the map and our location once more.

The map showed bushes in front of the northern shelter’s back gate. Raising my head, I saw branches and bushes tangled together, entwining as if embracing each other.

Jaeger approached me with a suspicious look.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m certain.”

I rolled up the map and stashed it in my belt pouch.

“We’ll see when we get there.”

The Crown Prince led the way, cutting through branches and bushes with his spear. Jaeger followed, snapping off smaller twigs.

I followed them, inhaling the heavy scent of mud and grass.

“Just as the young lady said.”

The Crown Prince muttered quietly and stopped.

Jaeger stopped behind him.

Passing by the two, I noticed a silver mesh fence.

With a triumphant smile, I shook the fence’s back gate. A small gap had formed, but it was securely locked.

“We’ll need to break the lock.”

“It’s a special lock made with sacred power; it won’t break. But we can find the key.”

“Find it? The key should only be given to bereaved families authorized to use the shelter.”

I pulled out a pouch of jerky from my subspace pouch at my waist. Picking the most appetizing piece, I held it aloft like the Statue of Liberty holding a torch.

“….”

“….”

The Crown Prince and Jaeger’s intense gazes met mine.

‘Does she always carry jerky in her bag…?’ I could hear the Crown Prince muttering.

I blushed but stood straight, pretending nothing was wrong.

Swish!

At that moment, Aporta—the bird trained at the temple—swooped down and snatched the jerky.

The silver key caught on the bird’s thin leg as it landed on a nearby branch, glinting.

While the bird chewed and savored the jerky, I carefully removed the key from its leg.

Everything went smoothly.

As expected, it was only the male leads who failed to anticipate anything.

‘If only these two would stay still, things would be easy.’

I shook the key at the two male leads.

“See?”

“What is that bird?”

The Crown Prince nodded toward Aporta. I explained while unlocking the gate.

“It’s Aporta, the guardian of the shelter’s management keys. Obsessed with jerky.”

“How do you even know this?”

I paused my hands while unlocking and looked at them.

Both frowned, staring at me suspiciously. Especially Jaeger.

“Why does the young lady know something I don’t?”

I shrugged.

“I have a friend who went to theology school. She was in a mentor-student relationship with the shelter’s manager. She told me, ‘Don’t tell anyone.’ Of course, when someone tells you not to tell anyone, eventually everyone finds out, right?”

Even my smoothly-spoken lie didn’t soften Jaeger’s harsh gaze.

Naturally, suspicion was warranted—it was confidential information only known to the shelter’s managers and senior clergy.

I had seen in the novel that a temple attendant manages the shelter keys via Aporta, so I already knew.

But what could he do? Trapped in a zombie zone, any excuse would have to be accepted.

Ignoring Jaeger’s gaze, I unlocked the gate and dropped the lock to the ground. Inside, I saw a quaint cabin.

Passing by a woodpile incinerator, I reached the cabin’s main entrance.

I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

Creak—.

A warm lavender scent filled the air.

I cautiously stepped inside.

Jaeger, unwilling to be near me, volunteered to watch for zombies at the entrance. The Crown Prince followed me inside.

The shelter, relying on midday sunlight, had a generally cozy, naptime-friendly atmosphere.

Two rectangular windows allowed soft light in front of the door. A six-person dining table sat before them; on the right was a bunk bed attached to the wall.

A map of the sacred area hung on the wall opposite the bed, next to the kitchen.

There were three other doors: a pantry with food, a bathroom with a miraculous flush toilet, and a mysterious locked room.

That room remained a mystery even by the end of the original story—I never knew what was inside.

I opened each door, then approached the bookshelf beside the final locked room to find its key.

Just as I reached for the drawer beneath the bookshelf…

“…Hah.”

The Crown Prince, inspecting the bed, let out a chuckle.

It was the kind of dumbfounded laugh that only comes at shocking moments.

“What is it?”

I quietly approached behind him and widened my eyes.

I imagined how the dwarves must have felt seeing Snow White.

Was a forest fairy hiding here to nap?

Fair skin, rosy lips.

Dark hair fanning over his neck, long lush eyelashes.

A strikingly handsome man lay neatly asleep.

The Crown Prince tilted his head, his posture showing exactly what he thought of the man.

“Why is he here?”

“Do you two know each other?”

I played dumb, even though I knew their connection from the original story.

The Crown Prince fixed his gaze on the man, raising an eyebrow in displeasure.

“Know each other… More than that—it’s a very close relationship.”

“Hmmm, really? Should we wait for him to wake, or wake him now?”

“….”

The Crown Prince turned to me with a subtle expression.

“Why?”

“…You’re not thinking of taking him with us, are you?”

“Exactly. We agreed to save the survivors.”

“Listen, young lady. If you expect teamwork from him, you should give up—he’s—”

“Hmm—.”

Before the Crown Prince finished, the man on the bed turned toward us.

Swish—.

A breeze blew strongly through the half-open window. Leaves outside swayed, and sunlight poured over the man’s face.

The light struck his eyelids, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Blinking drowsily like a cat waking from a nap, he looked at the three of us standing by the bed.

Without surprise, he simply blinked languidly.

“Who… are you?”

He asked in a clear, pure voice.

“…Did you sleep well?”

Cien Blanche.

One of the original male leads and the empire’s only magic tower master.