Chapter 36 - Yohan's Bizarre Vacation (4)

Leaning against the hall wall, I watched people eating chocolate bars and simple snacks they had brought along. They ate cautiously, watching one another. Nobody offered to share.

I didn't particularly think they were selfish or bad. Food was precious when we had no idea when we would be rescued. It was only natural.

If there had been a leader who could take charge and reassure everyone, perhaps they would have shared their food in a friendlier atmosphere. But I had neither the ability nor the inclination to look after people. I'd sooner kill them and take their food before I fucking starved to death. Since when had I been some virtuous saint obsessed with morality?

I didn't want to tell them we should share our food because helping one another was the natural thing to do in a situation like this. There wasn't any grand reason. It simply wasn't my style. I'd take care of finding my own food.

I stood up, stretched, and spoke to Ellie.

"It might be dangerous, but we can't just keep going hungry."

She had shown remarkable physical ability, sending a zombie flying and carrying someone on her back.

'... That must have been a breathing technique, right?'

Or perhaps she was the type who looked surprisingly impressive with her clothes off, and that nun's habit was packed with muscle underneath. Either way, Ellie was the most useful person here right now.

"According to the campground map, we can reach the convenience store through the side-door passage. I'm going to look for food. What would you like to do?"

Sua answered before Ellie could.

"I'm coming too. If we're fetching food, more hands would help."

"This isn't a game. It's dangerous, so stay here instead of tagging along."

Sua answered without hesitation.

"I'm coming because it isn't a game. Rather than staying here..."

She glanced around the hall, then looked away.

"I think I'll be safer with Ellie and you, mister."

One of my eyebrows rose at that unexpected answer. Despite her shitty attitude and manners, she apparently had animal instincts—or some judgment, at least. It was true that another pair of hands meant we could carry more. If she wanted to come, I wasn't going to stop her. Just one thing—

"If you fall, I'm leaving you behind."

"Hmph! I wasn't expecting anything from you anyway."

Ellie looked at the frightened children, drained by hunger, and nodded.

"... You're right. I'll come too. And if someone falls, I do think we should help them."

I asked the other survivors as well, but nobody wanted to come. That was fine; an overly large scouting party would be dangerous anyway. Ignoring their looks, which said, Aren't you just going to attract zombies?, I stood before the hall's side door.

"They seem to react to sound. Let's walk carefully instead of running for no reason."

I unlocked the door and stepped into the straight passage, where an eerie atmosphere hung in the air. We followed it to the adjoining building. Fortunately, there were no zombies immediately in sight. But fog must have entered through some window or door. An unpleasant white haze filled the building, though visibility was better than outside.

We reached the convenience store, and I checked inside. A few shelves had toppled over, but for a store that had suffered a zombie attack, it was in decent shape.

"Aaaah..."

... I took that back. A zombie was trapped beneath a fallen shelf. Still, judging by the way it only moaned vacantly, it seemed unable to move.

I whispered quietly, and Sua whispered back.

"Let's grab what we need and get out."

"What should we take?"

"Nothing that needs cooking. Ready-to-eat food and drinking water."

Ellie spoke in a hushed voice.

"Let's split up the work."

Fortunately, Ellie didn't say anything infuriating about leaving money at the register while we looted the store. Apparently, she was at least that flexible. Staying hydrated was important in a situation like this.

"..."

When I went to the refrigerator holding bottled water, I found myself in a position to meet the eyes of the zombie beneath the shelf.

"Aaaah..."

... It still didn't quite make sense. A magical fantasy zombie was a magician's undead familiar. Unless the magician simply wanted to cause a zombie apocalypse, there had to be a reason for releasing so many. Their simple movements suggested they weren't being controlled directly. Probably just given basic instructions and let loose. Judging by their reactions to sound, those instructions were to attack and kill living creatures, then turn the corpses into zombies with the magical fog.

... Then what?

"..."

Forget it. Right now, collecting water mattered. Maybe someone really had just wanted to start a zombie apocalypse. After taking the water, I knelt on one knee and looked down at the zombie.

'... Should I deal with it first?'

Or, since it couldn't move, I could do a quick investigation or experiment. I had two grimoires, after all. Should I try <The Lesser Key of Solomon> this time instead of <Mysteries of the Worm>?

Magic dealing with the dead. Necromancy. <The Lesser Key of Solomon> did contain knowledge of necromancy as well. More precisely, some of Solomon's seventy-two demons were adept at necromancy or necromancy, so the material was included as something like an appendix.

I took <The Lesser Key of Solomon> out of my bag. Yes, only for a moment. I had it out for just a moment. But apparently, that was enough for them.

The zombie lying motionless beneath the fallen shelf began to tremble.

"A-ah... F-found it!"

My eyes widened at the words coming from a zombie that had only made meaningless noises until now.

'—What?'

Yohan's guess had been correct. The necromancer Edward Coffin, who was responsible for all this, had implanted orders in the zombies he released at the campground, specifying how they should act in particular circumstances. As Yohan had predicted, they reacted to sound, attacked people, and increased their numbers through the fog Edward had spread. Then, with their increased numbers, they searched for <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

Mystery is drawn to mystery. A magician consumed by desire had acted on that principle alone, making a move that bordered on self-destruction. Yet against impossible odds, treasure had been caught in the net he cast.

—!!

The fog churned and reverberated.

Found it... Found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it found it!

The Lesser Key of Solomon.

At the appearance of <Lemegeton>, the zombies filling the campground all howled at once, shaking the building.

Nothing like its sluggish self from before, the zombie beneath the shelf shrieked and dragged itself free. With its lower body torn off, its upper body flopped forward.

"Aaaah—!"

It lunged at Yohan.

"—!?"

The sudden, unexpected attack knocked me backward, but—

'What the fuck—!'

I immediately struck its temple with my elbow and shoved it away.

CRACK!

But that wasn't the end.

"Aaaaaah—!"

The door to the staff room at the back of the store opened, and zombies poured out. Crashing into the fallen shelves, they rushed straight at me. My eyes narrowed, turning cold.

'That's it... I'm summoning him.'

But before I could summon Grizzly—

"Yohan!"

Ellie rushed over, black hair streaming, and planted herself in front of me as if to shield me. Fluid as flowing water—

"—!"

She delivered a low kick to the first zombie's legs.

CRASH!

Its knees shattered, and both legs broke off.

In that brief opening, while the zombie with its shattered legs hung in midair, Ellie's fist struck its abdomen.

BOOM!

She sent it flying into the other zombies, knocking them down.

BANG! CRASH! BOOM!

Ellie's hands and feet moved, demolishing the zombies approaching Yohan.

I stared at Ellie's back. I'd thought she was strong, but she was far stronger than I'd expected. Just as surprising was the fact that someone grabbed my arm to pull me to my feet.

It was Namgung Sua. My eyes widened in astonishment.

'Wait, fuck, damn it—she's helping me?'

As though she'd read my thoughts, Sua supported me with an expression that was both frightened and triumphant.

"Can you feel the difference in our character?"

I made a quick decision.

"Thanks. Run."

I didn't know how things had ended up like this, but one thing was now certain. What the insane magician who had reduced the campground to this state wanted was my grimoire, <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

There was no time to hesitate. I got up immediately, grabbed my bag, and ran with Sua. Ellie was strong, but the zombies would keep coming. We had to escape so that Ellie, who was protecting us, could get away too.

Once Sua and I got out, Ellie promptly smashed one more zombie's head and ran after us. Her basic speed was on another level, so she caught up in no time. The three of us raced like mad toward the straight passage leading to the hall.

THUDTHUDTHUD! CRASH! AAAAAH!

The footsteps of zombies swarming into the building, the shattering of windows as they broke in, and their shrieks rang out.

"Aaaah—!"

A wandering zombie stood in front of the passage, blocking our way. Ellie surged ahead.

"Keep running!"

She drove her fist into its head. The zombie's body flipped a hundred and eighty degrees and slammed headfirst into the ground.

We reached the hall door. Ellie grabbed the handle to open it, but it rattled. The door was locked.

"We're back! Please open the door!"

"Th-things are strange right now. Are you sure it's safe?"

For the first time, Ellie's gentle voice turned hard.

"Open it right now before I break it down!"

Confused voices sounded inside, and the door opened. We rushed in, pressed against it, and shut and locked it. The instant we did—

CRASH! BANG! BOOM! BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!

Zombies crowded against the door, hammering on it with an ugly racket. Then, unbelievably, it abruptly fell silent.

Ellie took a deep breath and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Whew... D-did they give up?"

"No. They think they've trapped us."

I frowned.

Now that I knew his objective, I could roughly predict his next move. This was someone who had done all this to get what he wanted. Now that he'd found what he'd been searching for, he intended to come in person—whatever preparations he might make first.

The survivors, unaware of what was happening, surrounded us and raised their voices.

"Wh-what is going on!?"

"What on earth did you do?"

"Why did you have to go out and make things worse—!"

Well, I understood. They were probably confused. But I had neither the time nor the inclination to explain, so I pulled a pistol from inside my coat.

"Shut up."

"Huh? Aaaaah!?"

A gun? Why a gun!?

Startled by the sudden appearance of the pistol, everyone backed away and fell silent.

I laughed inwardly at the sight.

'Wow. Guns really are great.'

It felt like having a victory button that could win any argument. Whatever logic the other person had, however loudly they shouted, one click of my index finger would leave them unable to say a word.

Flustered, Ellie approached me.

"Y-Y-Yohan! That's—"

I whispered quietly to her.

"Of course it's fake. A well-made toy."

Of course it was real. It was fully loaded with seventeen rounds. But I genuinely had no intention of firing.

When I put the gun back inside my coat to show I wasn't going to shoot, people started to say something, then stopped and shut their mouths. With the situation settled for the moment, the children ran up and hugged Ellie, who gently stroked their heads.

"Ellie!"

"It's okay, it's okay. I brought some bread. Let's eat together."

"Really?"

"Really."

Ellie took several buns out of her habit and handed them to the children.

"There isn't much, so share nicely."

Sua ate the bread she had grabbed too, taking big, eager mouthfuls.

I had no bread. ... Well, it couldn't be helped. I had to take care of my own food. Unexpected things had happened, but I was the one who'd failed to grab any. I'd have no energy, but going hungry for a little while wouldn't kill me...

Then Ellie smiled and casually offered me the last remaining bun—her own share—as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Here, Yohan."

It was a sweet red-bean bun.

I glanced at the bun, then looked at Ellie.

"... You brought it, Ellie. You should eat it."

"No, I'm fine. Yohan, go ahead and—"

GRRRRROWL.

A faint sound interrupted her. It had come from Ellie's stomach.

... There was no reason to be embarrassed, but Ellie's face flushed slightly. I spoke again.

"I'm fine. Please eat it."

Come to think of it, fighting the zombies must have made her hungrier than me.

But once again, as if it were only natural, she said,

"Then let's share."

Ellie broke the red-bean bun in half and offered me one piece.

"..."

I stared at the half-bun in her hand for a moment, then accepted it and brought it to my mouth.

"Thank you."

I was hungry, and the bun tasted perfectly good.

Then I met Sua's eyes. She glanced at me, gauging my reaction, and offered a piece of bread with bite marks in it.

"Here. I'll give you half of a half."

"... Half of a half, huh."

Since she offered, I took it. Sua looked triumphant again.

"Where's my thank-you?"

I sighed softly.

"Yeah. Thanks a lot."