ESMLT 37

Chapter 37

The price of violating the apocalypse survival formula was brutal.

Thump—! Thump—!

Kik… kiki……

Inside the stone chamber, an unidentified monster was approaching us, mocking us as it came.

Kweeeek!

On the stairway piled high with bones, zombies were climbing up, using their own comrades as stepping stones.

Crunch—!

Standing shoulder to shoulder with the Crown Prince as we fought off the ascending zombies, I suddenly locked eyes with the monster inside the stone chamber.

It was wobbling toward us, now about to leave the chamber entirely.

I hurriedly turned to the Crown Prince beside me, who was still dealing with the zombies.

“Your Highness, this won’t do. I’ll handle the zombies—please take care of the monster.”

“Very well.”

Thud—!

Perhaps recognizing the danger of the monster, he dashed into the stone chamber the moment I finished speaking.

Squelch—!

He drove his spear straight into the monster’s gills.

It was a massive creature, nearly three times his height, so I expected him to be overpowered—but the Crown Prince shoved it back without showing any strain.

Kik! Kikik!

The monster toppled backward and flailed violently.

Yes!

I grinned, silently cheering him on.

Crack! Crunch!

But just as I relaxed and finished off another zombie, I glanced back at the Crown Prince—and froze.

The spear embedded in the monster’s gills had snapped in two.

Th-the spear broke?!

He alternated his gaze between the broken half still stuck in the gills and the stump left in his hand, then looked at me.

Tilting his head slightly, he pointed at the spear. His eyes clearly demanded an explanation—Was this some cheap weapon?

I felt wronged.

I paid a fortune for that! A veteran craftsman with thirty years in the weapons trade made it by hand!

Maybe my indignation showed on my face. The Crown Prince glanced down at the broken shaft and ran a hand through his hair as if resigned.

Then, as if deciding something, his expression turned serious and he readied himself again.

He looked at me and said—

“Lady—trust me.”

It was partly drowned out by the sounds of zombies being crushed—kweok, crunch—but the words hit me hard.

Did he just say “trust me”?

As I stared at him with hopeful eyes, I noticed his gaze was fixed somewhere else.

Following his eyes, I realized he was staring at my pouch.

Damn it—so it wasn’t “trust me,” it was “I’m trusting you,” huh?!

I bristled for a moment, then quickly calmed myself.

Fine. Can’t be helped.

I signaled for him to buy me time and rummaged through my Dora×mon pouch.

As I plunged my hand into the subspace, kits and small items brushed past my fingers.

Damn it, I should’ve organized this better!

Normally, I’d take my time pulling things out into my palm or feeling around carefully—but trying to search while fighting off zombies climbing the stairs made even that impossible.

Sweat trickled down my back. The longer it took, the more my head and shirt were soaked with cold sweat.

“Lady, are you done yet?”

“Just wait!”

“I’ve severed its limbs—we need to block the zombies first!”

Squelch—

The Crown Prince jammed the broken spear into the monster’s last remaining arm. Then suddenly, his eyes widened, and he sprang out of the stone chamber.

Tap, tap, tap! Crunch!

He kicked off the wall, moving with whip-like agility as he smashed away a zombie lunging toward me.

Crunch! Rip!

Fighting the zombies barehanded, he called out urgently.

“Lady!”

At that moment, my rummaging hand brushed against something soft and furry.

Acting on instinct, I grabbed it and pulled it out.

Pop!

A rabbit jumped out of the pouch.

…Why are you here?

I was sure it had been asleep on the dining table when I left.

The rabbit looked just as startled, as if it had been woken mid-nap.

Still clutching its ears, I stared at it—then remembered the scene in the dawn forest where it had been happily munching on zombies.

My expression hardened.

Alright, rabbit. I’m counting on you.

I hurled it toward the zombie-filled corridor.

“Go, rabbit!”

“Eek!”

The startled rabbit spread its plump limbs like a flying squirrel as it sailed forward—then opened its mouth wide.

Its fluffy mouth completely blocked the stairway entrance, crunching and munching zombies and stuffing them into subspace.

I-it worked…

I clutched my chest and let out a shaky breath. My rattling heart finally seemed to settle.

Next… that thing.

Wiping the cold sweat away, I glared toward the stone chamber.

By the time I pulled out the rabbit, the Crown Prince had already rushed back inside after hearing the monster’s thrashing cries.

Worried about him fighting barehanded, I hurried in after him.

“Your Highness, are you—”

“What? Speak louder.”

“……”

“……”

“…What are you doing right now?”

The tension deflated like a punctured balloon.

Next to the monster sprawled flat on the floor, the Crown Prince was kneeling calmly, leaning in as if listening.

He frowned and looked at me.

“Lady, this thing is talking.”

“…The monster is talking?”

Forgetting my disbelief, I stepped closer and listened too.

It was true.

The animal mouths made only cries—but one human-like mouth was clearly speaking the imperial language.

We focused on the clearest voice.

“Kik… lu… lullaby…….”

“A lullaby?”

The Crown Prince looked at me in shock.

“It seems to be asking us to sing it a lullaby.”

“…It does.”

I nodded—then felt a piercing stare.

He was looking at me as if it were obvious.

Wait—don’t tell me he expects me to sing?

“I don’t know any lullabies.”

“I’ve never heard one.”

He looked pitiful.

It was infuriating.

“Didn’t your nanny sing to you?”

“I don’t remember. She tried to poison me when I was young, so I killed her myself.”

I had been ready to argue—but my words died instantly.

For a while, only the monster’s mocking laughter and the sound of the rabbit chewing zombies echoed around us.

“…Oh.”

What am I even supposed to say to that?

Maybe he read the conflict on my face. He twisted one corner of his mouth into a bitter smile—this time, not infuriating at all.

“So sing something and stall it. I’ll find a way to break that tough body.”

“Well, I don’t know any lullabies, b-but—♫ Mom goes to the shaded island~ to gather oysters~—”

The monster’s eyes snapped wide, its body twitching toward us. Reflexively, I kept singing.

It was a desperate, life-or-death performance.

The Crown Prince stared at me in disbelief, my ears burning red—but I didn’t stop.

When death looms, people can do anything.

Kik… kiki……

The monster stopped struggling as I sang.

“Murmurs about a lullaby I’ve never heard before,” the Crown Prince muttered, lifting the broken spear.

I kept singing, thinking—

That spear won’t work.

Even metal-shafted spears wouldn’t defeat a rock monster like this.

He knew that too.

Maybe he was waiting for me to pull out another weapon—or some magitech device.

I stumbled through the song, squeezing my eyes shut.

Okay. Stay calm.

So far, I’ve exposed grenades, tracking comm brooches, soundproof stickers, various weapons, miniaturization and lightweight kits…

Plenty of magic items were already out in the open—but could I really reveal something even stranger to a Crown Prince who still didn’t fully trust me?

I shook my head. Not yet.

Then maybe gunpowder?

No—explosives stronger than standard grenades could collapse the cave.

What about escaping and leaving it alive?

But letting it live just because it wasn’t attacking right now was risky.

It could chase us.

Lost in thought, I had stopped singing, chewing my lip.

That’s when the monster revved itself up—

Grind—

—and rolled straight toward me.

Rrrrrumble—!

“Lady!”

The Crown Prince scooped me up instantly, dodging the blow.

Crash—!

The monster smashed into the wall, stones crumbling down.

Kik… kiki……

Bracing itself with its severed, bleeding limbs, it twisted around and aimed at us again.

Up close, its crushed eyes and lips oozed blood.

“Lu… kik… lullaby…….”

Rrrrrumble—! Crash—!

Once again, the Crown Prince dodged while holding me.

Watching the monster, he whispered—

“Lady, I’m sorry, but… do you have any other weapons?”

Other weapons?

As I clung to his neck, thinking desperately, my eyes landed on something among the scattered rubble—

The broken spear’s shaft I’d dropped earlier.

Something flashed in my mind.