Adela opened her eyes.
Her head felt groggy.
She had no memory of even falling asleep.
The expression that she had lost consciousness was more accurate.
To escape from her drowsiness, she picked up the water bottle beside her.
When she opened the lid and brought it to her lips, a single drop of water fell.
Only then did she remember the fact that the water had run out.
“……Hah.”
A week had passed since they were trapped in the mine.
Sealing the entrance had been the decision of the knights.
They succeeded in blocking the entry of the zombies, but the problem was that they hadn't prepared a way to escape.
Derek had the map of the mine.
However, Derek’s whereabouts had been unknown since the incident broke out.
The group began to shake with his disappearance and quickly collapsed.
‘In the end, no one is coming.’
She had sent a carrier pigeon containing her last hope.
She watched the pigeon fly away through a crevice at the top.
It was an act she decided on alone without receiving permission from the knights.
She violated the rules.
However, she could do even worse than that if it meant living.
The carrier pigeon flew straight toward the two knight orders.
Even as she sent it off, doubt arose.
The respective knight orders had been antagonistic toward each other at the meeting place.
Their relationship, which was originally not good, had effectively become even worse.
They wouldn't help.
Would it have been better if she had written the contents of the letter falsely?
What if she had tempted them by saying the number of zombies was reduced or by offering a reward?
She thought about the possibilities, even if it didn't provide any immediate help.
“……Serena?”
Adela remembered her friend beside her belatedly.
Serena, who suffered from mutism, gave no answer even when her name was called.
Instead, she always patted Adela's shoulder.
That warm touch was not felt now.
“……Hah.”
Exhaling a shallow breath, she gathered what little strength she had into her legs.
The person she wanted to find was in a place not far away.
As she passed the corner, the blonde girl was kneeling and nursing someone.
It was a woman named Alisa.
She was a noble lady who had previously dressed herself up to use a honey trap at the meeting place.
She was not originally a prostitute.
She was a person who would have lived an ordinary life if the world were not in this state.
Of course, she would have walked the path decided by others simply because she was a woman.
‘I didn't like that. If I can't choose my own life, what meaning is there in living?’
She wanted a high position.
She hoped no one would treat her carelessly.
Fortunately, she had talent.
She would enter the academy and succeed as a mage.
She would meet other nobles and build a network.
She thought the Moonlight Knights, which was mostly composed of nobles, was a perfect group.
Therefore, when Derek went missing, she had some dark thoughts inside.
She believed that if she overcame this crisis with her own hands, she could seize the loyalty that had been directed toward Derek.
She was arrogant.
The result brought about by that arrogance was the current situation.
“How is she?”
Serena picked up a notebook and a pen.
[It’s not good. Her breathing is getting worse.]
“Let’s give up on Alisa.”
[What are you talking about?]
“There is no medicine. There is no place to get any either.”
[Even so, we can't give up on a living person.]
Adela let out a sigh.
It was Serena, who had lost her hometown.
Parents, siblings, relatives, nothing remained for her.
Telling her to cut off a connection was no different from stabbing a dagger into her heart.
“Then are you going to die here?”
[I’m not saying I’ll die. I’m saying I’ll do my best.]
“That’s the same thing! If the situation improved just because you were beside her, other people wouldn't have died either.”
Adela regretted it immediately after speaking.
Sadness appeared on her friend's face.
A sense of guilt washed over her.
She felt as if her very existence were falling into ugliness.
“……I’m sorry. I didn't mean it.”
[Yes, I know.]
Serena showed a peaceful smile.
Adela had no choice but to give up on persuading her to come along.
If she had to do it, she had to do it alone.
Abandoning her friend and walking through the pitch black passage, it was as simple as that.
However, strangely, her feet wouldn't move.
She was afraid of the darkness.
She was afraid of being alone.
The will to find a way to live was dying out in her chest.
The heart that wanted to give up inflated like a balloon.
“I should have done as Joshua said.”
Serena looked toward her.
The name of that boy was a name that neither she nor Serena could forget.
“He told us an army of zombies would come. He told us to prepare, and to run away if we couldn't. In the end, I managed to do neither.”
[It’s not your fault. You told the knight order, but no one believed you.]
“That was true. But I didn't exactly trust Joshua either. An army of zombies? Coming in a few months? Hah, there was no way I could believe that.”
Adela lamented in a voice mixed with self mockery.
“If I had truly believed it, I would have worked much harder.”
Serena didn't move her pen.
She was also anxious, but she just wasn't showing it.
“……Hah, if I were to die, I wanted to die in a more wonderful place. To think I’d end my life in a mine like this.”
[Where did you want to die?]
“Well, the ossuary of the Magic Tower I guess? Since it's a place where people who succeeded as mages are buried. Wouldn't I remain in history?”
[That sounds stuffy.]
“Is that so? Maybe it is.”
Adela smirked.
One might think she was crazy, but she was quite normal.
Nothing weakened mental strength as much as a heavy atmosphere.
“I think someone is coming?”
Her sensitive senses detected footsteps coming from afar.
She thought it was the knights.
Since it was later than the promised time, it seemed they had come to find them.
“We’re here.”
She let out her voice so they could find them easily.
The sound of footsteps gradually grew closer.
Soon, the face revealed in the darkness was a handsome boy.
Adela's mouth hung open as she was overwhelmed with shock.
Had she not woken up from her dream yet?
If not, was she seeing a hallucination?
When she rubbed her eyes, the boy was closer than before.
“Are you injured?”
Joshua asked in a calm voice.
Behind him were Tania and Leonard.
And two boys and one girl whose names she didn't know were with him.
“Wait, Leo?”
Leo took a step back with an awkward face.
“Y-You were alive!”
“Yes, do you have a complaint about me being alive?”
“How?”
“It’s complicated to explain. I’ll explain it later, so right now there are more important problems.”
Adela's heart raced.
Miraculous things were happening one after another.
She couldn't keep up with the situation easily.
She shifted her gaze toward the boy who was at the front.
The mysterious atmosphere she felt at the meeting place was the same.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she hurriedly tidied her bluish hair.
Heat was felt in her cheeks.
“I’m not injured.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
“How did you get here?”
“You sent the carrier pigeon.”
Adela's eyes widened.
“H-How did you know? I didn't write that it was me in the letter.”
“I knew by looking at the handwriting.”
“Is that possible?”
“I have a somewhat smart friend in my head.”
“You mean you have a good memory?”
“It’s different, but similar.”
Adela reached out and stroked the back of her neck.
Her mind was confused about what to say or how to act.
Then she lowered her head.
The feeling of shame grew larger, eating up other emotions.
“Did you come to laugh at me?”
“Come to laugh at you?”
“You gave me information. That a crowd of zombies would come. You even taught me a way to deal with it, but I failed. It’s the second time after the meeting place. Everything turned out like this because no one listened to you.”
She had no intention of making excuses even if she were mocked.
She thought that if she were scolded by him instead, her heart might feel much easier.
“I have no intention of laughing at you. I don't think it was wrong either.”
“Someone died because of me. If I had made the right choice, there were people I could have saved! But look at this. Everyone is dying.”
Anger welled up.
She was not angry at him.
She didn't think he was wrong either.
She just couldn't stand herself because she was so loathsome.
She wanted success, but she didn't want it at the cost of sacrificing others.
The dream she wanted to achieve when entering the academy, that dream was pure and right.
“Everyone fails.”
“Not you.”
“I have failed countless times as well. And I haven't even succeeded yet.”
“If you're going to tease me, stop. I’m not in the mood to take it.”
“It’s your freedom whether to believe it or not.”
Adela let out a sigh.
The expectation that she wanted to be rebuked by him was also betrayed.
He was truly a man who didn't go as planned.
“Why did you come here?”
“Because it was written in the letter to help, I’m the reinforcement.”
“That’s stupid. The situation in the mine right now is worse than what was in the letter, so did you regret it after seeing it?”
“I agree the situation is bad, but I’ve never regretted it.”
Adela locked eyes with Joshua.
It was a blunt face where emotions couldn't be read.
She couldn't grasp what he was thinking.
Though she thought this strange atmosphere suited him.
“I don't think there's much to gain here…… don't tell me, did you come because of me?”
“Yes.”
“Huh?”
Adela couldn't hide her bewilderment.
The boy answered calmly.
She couldn't know if that voice was sincere.
“What do you mean?”
“It means exactly what I said. It’s not good for me if you die. And that includes you, Serena.”
Serena, who was listening silently, also widened her eyes.
The knight apprentices watching from behind whispered in unison.
Gavinu and Talleon cast their gazes toward the two women they met for the first time.
Adela and Serena.
They were knight apprentices, but they had heard rumors about these two often.
Elites who possessed outstanding skill and talent.
And even more than that, they caused a stir with their beautiful looks.
Seeing them in person made it feel real.
They felt an aura that couldn't be hidden even when covered in dust.
“If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have been able to say a word.”
“Same here. I'm jealous. Sir Joshua doesn't look awkward even when standing beside those people.”
“Ahem.”
Tania coughed as if she wanted them to look her way.
“If you want a female student who is pleasing to the eyes, there's one right here.”
Both boys shrugged their shoulders.
Tania flared up at the lukewarm reaction.
“Huh! What’s with that reaction.”
“Ah, it’s not that you aren't pretty. But compared to those two, there are areas where you fall behind significantly.”
“Tell me before I burn you to a crisp. What am I lacking?”
“You lack sex appeal.”
Tania's face turned hot.
Her eyes automatically turned toward her thin chest.
She let out a growling, rough breath.
At the timing when physical growth was the fastest, there was a gap of four years.
This part was an area that couldn't be caught up with through effort.
“I, I’ll become like that someday too.”
“Well, Lady Lucille also has a good body, so it’s not genetically impossible. Good luck.”
Bang!
Joshua poured cold water on the talkative atmosphere with his staff.
“Small talk isn't too late even after escaping the mine.”
“S-Sorry!”
Joshua turned his gaze and approached the woman Serena was caring for.
“Was she bitten by a zombie?”
[No. Her physical condition has been bad since a few days ago, and it has worsened rapidly recently.]
Joshua checked her pulse.
The pulse was weak.
If it was a disease, there was no way for now.
He thought of a way to at least calm the symptoms.
He took out a water bottle.
He drew the spell sequence for the newly obtained spell in his head.
Holy Water Production.
It was magic that changed water into holy water with God's grace.
A warm energy covered the surroundings.
“Every time I see it, I feel it, but it’s very beautiful. Holy attribute magic.”
Adela admired it while looking at the golden color glowing like a firefly.
“Make her drink this. It will be a bit better.”
Serena, who received the water bottle, lifted Alisa up and started to feed her.
The effect was immediate.
The breathing of Alisa, who had difficulty even breathing, became much more comfortable.
[She seems to have gotten better.]
“Yes.”
[Can Alisa live?]
“It will depend on her stamina. Anyway, it’s not good to stay here long.”
He stood up and looked at Adela.
“Did you find an escape route?”
“No, I couldn't find one.”
She lowered her head.
It was an expression as if she had lost confidence.
It was a posture that didn't suit Adela Grace.
‘It would’ve been better for me if she found the exit.’
A series of failures following the meeting place.
It wouldn't be strange if a debuff occurred.
That wouldn't do.
Adela must grow into the person he remembered.
“Let’s go back to where the knights are. There’s nothing that will change by staying here.”
“……Alright.”