I moved carefully inward along the wall.
The path continued straight to one side without any crossroads.
I gradually approached the end.
I heard a faint sound of breathing.
It was not that of a zombie.
I gathered mana at my fingertips to create a firefly and sent it flying.
The silhouette of a person flashed past.
“W-Who is it?”
The voice that was heard was thin and weak.
The fireflies gathered in one place and lit up the inside of the cave.
There were two men and one woman.
And there were three corpses.
The man who was awake picked up a spear that had fallen on the ground.
The tip of the spear was sharp, but the spear shaft he held shook unnaturally.
The man’s body was dangerously weakened.
Withered forearms and baggy clothes.
His cheeks were gaunt as if he had starved for days.
“I am an adventurer who came after receiving a request from Vilne.”
“……Poor fellow, did you also roll into this hell?”
The man lowered his guard and put down the spear he was holding.
“What is the situation with the two people over there?”
“Rest assured. They were not bitten by monsters. They just lost consciousness.”
I nodded and approached him closely.
“How long have you been trapped here?”
“I don't know. I have no sense of how much time has passed.”
I looked around.
A few empty backpacks were strewn about in places.
When I lifted one to check the contents, a swarm of ants poured out.
“There are no supplies. They ran out a long time ago. Now, the only thing left is to eat our own flesh.”
The man gave a bitter smile as if he had resigned himself.
“Are the people lying over there your comrades?”
“No, they are strangers. They also lost their comrades and hid in this cave like me.”
“What happened?”
“The mist. Be careful of that damned mist.”
The man frowned deeply.
He looked as though the aftereffects still remained.
“There is something in the mist that makes people go crazy.”
“Were you also affected?”
“Yes, fortunately it was not to the extent of losing my reason.”
“What did you see?”
“……A flower field.”
A flower field.
I saw the same scenery when I came to the lake while playing the game.
A feeling as if someone’s memories were flowing in.
It was a comfortable feeling.
However, that was poison to a survivor.
Even within the game, this was described as a debuff.
“Listening to other people, it seems everyone saw a similar scene. They said when they fall into that hallucination, everyone becomes soaked in a happy mood. But that was not reality. The memories inside there were not mine.”
The man shook his head.
He dropped his head as if he did not want to think anymore.
Information gathering ended here.
I let out a light groan and stood up from my spot.
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
“I have held on until now with the belief that someone would rescue me. But now I think I must give up. You are a student, right?”
“That is correct.”
“It is hard for you. Even the mercenaries who were said to have good courage were helplessly defeated by that mist.”
I took two bottles of water and some food from my backpack and placed them on the ground.
The man looked at them with a puzzled gaze.
“You take them. They are items more necessary for you than for me, who will die soon.”
“No, I will leave this much and depart.”
“Why?”
“I will clear away the mist.”
“……What?”
He raised his head again, which had been lowered.
He met my gaze.
Trembling eyes filled with doubt.
The hope remaining inside them like a faint ember.
Fifteen days had passed since the request for the lake was cancelled.
The three living people had spent even more time than that inside this cave.
“There are no signs of fighting in here.”
I looked around.
Groups of different people gathered in one place.
If they were obsessed with life, it was right to survive hideously even by taking from others.
Yet there were no such signs here.
“You shared the supplies, fairly with each other.”
The man shed tears.
I don't know who he is.
However, I could imagine how he held on here.
He must have been desperate.
And he must have been afraid.
“……I did not want to be left alone. Not the three who died, not the two who are asleep, and not me.”
[Cool] sarcastically said that it was a weak mindset.
To survive, one must be cold hearted.
It was a sound argument.
But those gathered here, rather than living one more day.
They hoped to be at peace for even just one day.
“Even though the world has become one where effort is not rewarded because it is in this state, I will give you one more chance if you are okay with me.”
“You?”
“I am confident when it comes to mental power.”
[Cool] lamented.
[Steady Nerves] throbbed.
[Patience] was excited as if it were having fun.
“It is two days. If you come out of the cave then, the mist will be cleared.”
“Is it okay to believe you?”
“I am the type to be thorough with time appointments, even if I don't know about other things.”
“……Haha.”
The man laughed inanely.
He had no choice now.
Either stay here and die lonely.
Or accept my proposal and gather his strength.
“I want to remember your name.”
“I am called Joshua. My comrades call me Messiah.”
“That is a very grand nickname.”
“I think so too.”
The man avoided my gaze while wearing an expression cast with guilt.
“I am sorry I have nothing to give you.”
“Ah, you don't have to worry about that.”
“Huh?”
“Because I can receive it from others besides you.”
[The God of Harmony is moved by your warmth. You have acquired 10 coins.]
[The God of Compassion sheds tears at your consideration. You have acquired 10 coins.]
[Current coins held: 20]
* * *
Adela turned her head toward the passage.
She heard the sound of someone walking.
She watched the opponent while holding her weapon just in case.
“What, it was you?”
It was Joshua.
She swept her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
“There were no problems inside.”
“That is a relief.”
He approached the campfire and sat down.
He then took off his wet coat and left it on one side.
His upper body was revealed, but he showed no sign of caring.
“Luna fell asleep first.”
“I see.”
Joshua looked at Luna, who was asleep while hugging a blanket on one side.
Even though she looked mature, she was still a young dragon.
Once she was active, her stamina would drop quickly.
“Here, take this.”
“What is it?”
“Boiled water. Because your body must be cold.”
“I would have preferred soup if possible.”
“I will not give it to you if you intend to complain.”
Joshua shrugged his shoulders, received the water, and sipped it.
He felt his body becoming warm.
“We will stay here until lunch tomorrow. Until then, focus on recovering your lost stamina.”
“What is the plan after that?”
“We will approach the lake again.”
“I asked something obvious huh.”
Silence flowed.
Each person tried closing their eyes or changing their posture to focus on recovery.
Then, they began to watch each other.
Tania, unable to bear it, opened her mouth.
“U-Um, about the mist outside.”
“Yes.”
“It is not visible inside this cave.”
“That is the reason I chose this cave as a hiding place.”
“I-I see.”
The conversation stopped again.
The three people stared at the campfire with faces that looked devoid of energy.
Usually, they became quite talkative even if I did not intervene.
It was not like that now.
They fell off a cliff, crossed a river, and ran away from zombies.
They had experienced it several times, but it was a daily life they could never get used to.
“……Phew.”
Joshua fell into thought for a moment.
It was too early to fall asleep.
A gloomy atmosphere must be avoided.
It was troublesome to consume mental power even before fighting.
In bad cases, debuffs could even manifest.
“Shall we talk for a while?”
The three female students looked this way with surprised eyes.
They then exchanged glances.
I wondered what was so fun.
They giggled and laughed among themselves.
“Okay, what is the topic?”
“It is about zombies.”
“It is not a very pleasant topic, but I will give you a special pass, Senior.”
“Thanks.”
[Clever] retraced the scenario related to Lake Emeria.
The zombie of the lake.
The source that emitted the mist.
It was a story entangled with her.
“What do you plan to do if you are bitten by a zombie?”
“That is a heavy topic.”
“I did not speak with the intention of creating anxiety. I just want to confirm it.”
“I would commit suicide.”
Adela cut off the words and answered decisively.
“Rather than becoming such a monster and wandering around, I want to take my own life.”
“That could also be one method.”
“How about you?”
“I would cut out the wounded part. If it is an arm, I will cut the arm. If it is a leg, I will cut the leg.”
“……I truly cannot beat you huh.”
Adela burst into a chuckle, saying it was absurd.
“That method, does it work?”
“It depends on the situation. It works if it has not been long since you were bitten.”
“You speak as if you are someone who has done it.”
“I have done it several times. Regarding this issue, the verification is already finished.”
They looked at me with a look of disbelief.
There is no way to prove it.
The things I spoke of were experiences from the time I played the game.
[I think I would quietly leave the group.]
Serena, who was deliberating, wrote in her notebook.
[Because if I am bitten, not only I but the people around me will suffer. I don't want to push a burden on anyone.]
“Perhaps the opponent this time is similar to you, Serena.”
[Similar?]
“The target of this request is also in a similar situation.”
Ooh, exclamations were heard.
The girls who had not felt interest showed interest late.
“This request was commissioned by the Norton family. Specifically, it is the current head of the family, Kelvin Norton. It seems he had someone he loved besides his primary wife.”
“You mean a mistress?”
Adela spoke with an unpleasant look.
An affair.
It was a sensitive issue for women.
The concept of a concubine did not exist in this world, but there were more than enough nobles who enjoyed the company of women.
“Yes.”
“It is a common story. Men falling into wine and women and keeping a woman by their side. So?”
She disliked the person who was the head of the family, yet she did not lose interest.
The concentration of the other two people remained the same.
“I heard that the lover was bitten by a zombie. She told the Count that fact without hiding it.”
“Did the Count fail to kill her even after hearing that?”
“It seems so. Furthermore, it seems he even kept her by his side for a while.”
Tania, who was listening, wore a pained face.
“I understand how it feels. If my family members were bitten, I also would not have been able to kill them with my own hands.”
“Yes, there are many people who do that. And those people usually meet an unhappy fate.”
“How about you, Senior?”
“I would kill them. You guys must also kill me if I change.”
“……I did think I asked for nothing.”
Tania frowned.
His answer sometimes felt too cold.
“It is an iron rule regarding survival.”
“I know that, but still.”
“So, what happened to her next?”
The person most immersed in this story was Adela.
She pestered me to keep telling the story like a spoiled child.
“I don't know how she did it, but she seems to have escaped from the castle. And she came all the way here.”
“What a great tenacity.”
“She seems to have had stronger self control than other zombies.”
“Is it because she is a variant?”
“That would be one reason, but there is one more reason.”
“What is it?”
“She is an elf.”
The zombies of this world did not consist only of humans.
Beasts also exist.
And other races also became zombies.
Elves were one of them.
“There were elf zombies too?”
“Yes.”
“This is a bit of a shocking story.”
“There are many other zombies too. For example, there are so many, shall I tell you?”
“I don't particularly want to hear them.”
“Understood.”
Adela pouted her lips and gathered her knees.
[Did the Count not chase her right away?]
Serena asked a question.
“Even if he had the thought, it would have been difficult to execute. He is a man with a wife and children. It is obvious what the public gaze would be if he raised soldiers to save a lover he was in an affair with.”
[Then the reason he is trying to kill her now is?]
“By my judgment, I think it might be to silence her, but only the person himself would know the exact circumstances.”
Joshua told them the story related to Lake Emeria.
The reactions were different for each person.
And they analyzed this story with their own perspectives.
It felt like participating in a discussion.
“I think I know how the two people feel!”
Tania poured out the resentment she had been holding back as if she were complaining.
“This result came about because they truly loved each other. She came to a place where there are memories, and Count Norton commissioned the request to bury her in that place. No doubt about it!”
It was an amazing force.
Joshua opened his eyes wide.
She was a girl who somewhat lacked confidence.
Yet this time, she became excessively heated about a matter related to others.
“T-That is, this is just my opinion. Not that it is necessarily so…….”
Tania’s cheeks became flushed.
She twisted her body, unable to bear the shyness.
Then, she even covered her face with a blanket.
“I am going to sleep. Don't call me!”
The two female students watching her giggled.
Adela borrowed her words and fell into sentiment.
“A zombie choosing a place to die, and a lover trying to bury her in that place……. If not for the affair, I would even want to bless them.”
She turned her expression and looked at Joshua.
“What do you think?”
“A zombie is just a zombie.”
“But my family or friends could become zombies too.”
“There can be hesitation. One can be sad. That is not strange. One just has to think of the living person before the dead person.”
“A sound argument.”
Adela seemed to make an indifferent expression, then lay down on the spot.
Serena also soon followed her and fell asleep.
Naturally, the first night watch became mine.