Ethan lowered his head at my words.
He seemed to be trying to laugh silently, but it was obvious he was failing—his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.
“But it’s my first time seeing a monster act so melodramatic.”
Hamel stood up while reloading his rifle.
I had momentarily forgotten because he lacked the overwhelming presence of Nikolai, but Hamel was also a soldier—specifically, the Deputy Guard Captain.
Looking at his broad shoulders and solid build, it was clear that I didn’t really need to step in. With both Hamel and Ethan around, why had I even bothered?
In any case, just as Hamel mentioned, the mutated monster was still lying on the ground, feigning pain. I offered him some advice as he approached the creature.
“Be careful. It’s intelligent. It knows how to hunt.”
Both Hamel and Theodore fixed their tense gazes on the dramatic monster.
Gripping my axe, I slowly stepped out from the bushes. Ethan quickly moved to block my path.
“I’ll handle this. Step back.”
I didn’t resist. It was clear that dealing with an unpredictable mutated monster was better suited to Ethan than to me.
Theodore and Hamel also stepped in front of me, shielding me.
“Honestly, Lady, you probably fight better than I do, but a lady still deserves protection,” Hamel said with a charming smile, clad in his guard uniform and reloading his rifle.
Theodore, equally striking in his pristine white crown prince uniform, held his sharp sword aloft and nodded.
“Sir Hamel is correct. My lady, please step back.”
Meanwhile, it was Ethan who enthusiastically handled the monster while the others struck gallant poses. How typical.
“Yip—! Whimper—!”
The mutated monster yelped and groaned in pain as Ethan pummeled it, occasionally glancing at me with what looked like a plea for help.
Since earlier, I’d noticed something odd—the creature didn’t actually have tears, yet its eyes seemed perpetually watery, creating the illusion of crying.
Why does this monster look pitiful?
“Sir Ethan, doesn’t it seem like this thing has no intention of attacking us?”
“Yes, that’s why I haven’t killed it outright...”
Ethan stopped beating the monster. It flailed its short limbs before slamming its face into the ground, looking genuinely miserable.
“It’s almost human-like... It’s unnerving,” Theodore muttered, and we all silently agreed.
Sniff— Sniff sniff—
Suddenly, the creature began sniffing the air.
What’s it doing?
We all watched its movements carefully. It raised its head, buried its nose in the ground, and started sniffing intently, its tail wagging furiously in excitement.
I glanced around, my thoughts racing. Now that I looked closely, we were walking through a forest dense with spruce trees.
“Isn’t that a plane tree?” Hamel pointed to the massive tree the mutated monster had bumped into earlier. Sure enough, a giant tree stood tall in the middle of the forest.
Quickly flipping through my herb guidebook, I compared the tree to the images.
A thick trunk and leaves shaped like slightly broader maple leaves—it matched the photos in the guide. It was indeed a plane tree.
“Well... If that’s the case, there should be a stream nearby. And near the stream, there should be Elpinos herbs...”
I trailed off as the realization hit me. If Elpinos herbs were nearby, it explained the creature’s excitement.
Like regular virus-infected monsters, the mutated ones seemed to go crazy for Elpinos herbs—like cats with catnip.
The mutated monster, still sniffing the ground, stood up and began wagging its tail while scanning its surroundings as if searching for something.
‘If my theory is correct, I can’t let this thing get to the Elpinos herbs first!’
Ethan noticed my anxiety and approached me.
“Miss Cherry, what’s wrong?”
I pointed at the monster, which was now moving with its nose to the ground.
“We need to move faster than that thing! Before it eats all the Elpinos herbs!”
Before I even finished my sentence, Ethan darted off as if my words alone were reason enough.
I hadn’t explained the monster’s obsession with the scent of Elpinos herbs, so Theodore and Hamel, looking confused, hurriedly followed us.
Drip-drip—
The sound of a stream trickled from somewhere nearby. The mutated monster was moving quickly toward it. Damn it!
I chased after Ethan and the monster with all my might, struggling to keep up with their speed.
While the monster was fast, Ethan’s pace was no less impressive.
Before long, a stream came into view, and the mutated monster dashed down a slope toward it.
I didn’t know what kind of absurd race this had turned into, but I couldn’t let a single herb go to waste in this crazy world.
‘Every single Elpinos herb is precious and invaluable in this hellhole!’
Stretching one leg forward, I slid down the slope at high speed. Pointing in the monster’s direction, I shouted at Ethan.
“Sir Ethan! Over there! Catch that damn thing! We can’t let it get away!”
Ethan immediately changed course and ran in that direction.
Splash.
I stepped into the stream, splashing through the water toward the mutated monster, which had its head buried in a crevice, devouring something.
Damn it!
Frantically, I pulled the axe from my back and spun it in my hand before hurling it toward the rock.
Crash—!
The rock shattered into pieces, and the impact sent the monster tumbling backward. As it struggled to rise again, Ethan leaped down the slope.
“Not so fast!”
He jumped into the air and landed squarely on the monster.
Splash!
The monster plunged into the water. Seizing the moment, I gathered the Elpinos herbs that had fallen beneath the broken rock. I didn’t forget to retrieve my axe, either.
Roar—!
The mutated monster surged out of the water, only to be struck down by Ethan again.
Gurgle—
The monster submerged, and the pattern repeated—Ethan fighting it while I diligently collected the herbs.
‘Whew. That should be enough.’
Looking at the bag now stuffed with herbs, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and secured the bag.
From the top of the hill, Theodore and Hamel stood hesitantly, clearly unsure whether to join us.
Their expressions said they weren’t accustomed to the energy levels of me and Ethan. Theodore met my gaze and awkwardly remarked.
“...Impressive. My lady, you’ve truly become a wildling.”
He could’ve just said I was a bit rough around the edges, but calling me a wildling made me sound like I’d come from the Stone Age.
Splash!
Roar—!
Just then, Ethan hoisted the mutated monster by its tail, as if reeling in a prize catch.
“This thing... wouldn’t it make an excellent test subject for Ludfisher’s experiments?”
“You never change, do you?” Theodore replied curtly, summing up his opinion of Ethan.
***
Nikolai’s concerns about delays due to an injured team member turned out to be unfounded.
Vanilla, who seemed to have injured her leg, managed to keep up without hindering the group, even if she was limping slightly.
That didn’t mean Nikolai wasn’t worried.
Expecting the task to be slow from the start, Nikolai had resolved to ensure Vanilla wouldn’t overexert herself.
“Are you really all right, my lady?”
Vanilla nodded indifferently.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“How could I not?”
Vanilla looked at him as if she didn’t understand his concern, as if she had never received kindness without strings attached.
Nikolai sighed. He couldn’t understand why someone injured had joined such a grueling mission.
Even Cherry had tried to stop her, but Vanilla herself had insisted on coming along.
Vanilla gazed at Nikolai with her inscrutable expression before rummaging through her pocket, as if something had just occurred to her.
“Oh, I did ask for this in return.”
Clink. A coin pouch jingled in her hand.
Nikolai blinked, momentarily unable to process her words. Money? In this ruined world?
“If there’s anything you need, Sir Nikolai, just let me know. As long as you put your heart into it, I can pay you for anything.”
She made a circular gesture with her finger, mimicking a coin. Nikolai pressed his fingers to his temple.
“Money is useless in a world that has ended.”
“Maybe not right now. But the world will be rebuilt soon.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“It’s not certainty. Just hope.”
Hope.
The word weighed heavily on him. He couldn’t muster a response to her final remark.
As they continued walking toward the capital in silence, Nikolai suddenly stopped. A fork in ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the path lay ahead.
One sign read “Route 2,” and the other read “Route 3.”
“What’s this Route 2...?”
Nikolai tilted his head as he pointed toward the path leading to Kintne.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёwebnovel.com.
“Route 2 leads to Kintne. We need to take this path,” Vanilla said, pointing to the other, marked Route 3.
That must be the path Cherry and Ethan had been digging or the one Theodore’s group had used to come from the capital.
They walked a bit further and came upon signs of Cherry and Ethan’s previous excavation. They’d stopped digging at about shin height, leaving a pile of dirt below the unfinished tunnel.
“Didn’t Miss Cherry mention she took Route 2 to Kintne because Route 3 was blocked? This must be the Route 3 she was talking about,” Victor said, stepping over the dirt mound. Vanilla nodded in agreement and glanced briefly at Nikolai.
“They probably didn’t have time to discuss Route 3 further after meeting the group from the capital,” she added.
Nikolai couldn’t follow their conversation, but he assumed it was about what had happened while they’d been staying here. He kept his thoughts to himself.
The group pressed on, only to encounter another fork in the path.
Both routes were blocked.
It wasn’t clear whether the paths had collapsed or been intentionally obstructed, like some of the earlier ones. This made it difficult to determine which path led to the capital.
“Which path leads to the capital?” Vanilla asked.
Nikolai scratched the back of his head awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.
“I... I’m not sure.”
“Then let’s dig both paths,” Victor said, lifting a shovel. He was right; if they couldn’t tell which was the correct route, they had no choice.
And so, they silently began clearing the dirt.
‘This reminds me of my father.’
Vanilla thought to herself as she dug.
Being in these underground tunnels always brought memories of her father.
All he had left her were mountains of debt and dilapidated mansions that seemed impossible to sell.
After his death in a car accident, she had worked relentlessly. The properties she had inherited wouldn’t sell, and the debts only grew.
In truth, the world ending had been a strange sort of relief for Vanilla.
It meant she could start over. If Nox could create a cure, she could rebuild her life in the new world.
“There’s something strange written here,” Nikolai said suddenly, pointing to the walls on either side of the fork.
Faint white chalk markings, mostly smudged or erased, were visible on both walls.
“They look like numbers,” Victor murmured, studying the markings closely. Vanilla responded absentmindedly.
“Number 3. And over here, it’s number 8...?”
The number 3 was written again on the left-hand path.
**“Things to Remember:
Route 1: Brunel,
Route 3: Spring,
Route 6: Hague,
Route 8: Notium.”**
The map of Happy House and the notes on its back flashed through Vanilla’s mind.
Based on the name Notium, the path to the capital seemed to be Route 8 on the right.
“The right path leads to the capital. Route 8.”
“Then where does Route 3 lead?” Nikolai asked.
Route 1 had led to Brunel Village’s police station, and Route 2 went to Kintne’s Sinclair Hotel. If that was the case...
“This path must connect to the spring,” Vanilla concluded.