Susanna probably didn’t realize the world had ended. After all, she’d been trapped inside the fireplace ever since she saw those two monsters.
“I’ll explain everything later. For now, tell me—how did you escape? I found your torn clothes in the ballroom. I thought you’d turned into one of them.”
“Well... My dress got caught on one of its claws, so I slipped out of it and ran. The closest place was your room, so I came here. I thought about escaping through the window, but it wouldn’t open properly. I didn’t have enough time, and I thought I’d get caught any second. So I figured I’d climb up the chimney to hide. But when I tried, it was blocked. Then, by accident, I kicked the fire grate, and it opened.”
Susanna kicked her legs under the blanket as if reenacting the moment, then curled into herself, clasping her hands together.
“I shut the door and hid inside. But the problem was that the door couldn’t be opened from the inside. It felt like it was designed to block intruders.”
A door that couldn’t be opened from the inside? Designed to keep intruders out? Her words only deepened my curiosity about the purpose of the underground passage. Then I suddenly remembered the dead monster in the ballroom.
“Susanna, there was a dead monster in the ballroom. It looked like a bear. Did you kill it?”
Her face turned deathly pale. Without saying a word, she gave a vigorous nod. She pressed her lips together and trembled, too shaken to speak. I decided not to press her further.
Then Nox asked her a question.
“How did you survive in there without water?”
“There was water. At least, I think it was water—it was too dark to be sure. There was some in a canteen, and I drank it over a few days.”
A canteen with water? Why was there a canteen in that place to begin with?
“Was there anything else in there? Do you know where the passage leads?”
“I don’t know. It was pitch black, and I didn’t think to explore. I was too scared I’d run into more monsters.”
Susanna shuddered, her face drenched in fear. Nox gently patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
“It seems clear we need to explore that area,” I said quietly.
Everyone agreed.
For now, Susanna needed time to recover. After speaking, she had exhausted all her strength and quickly fell asleep. She looked pale and gaunt, her skin dry and lifeless from days without proper nourishment.
Checking her condition, Nox said she was severely malnourished and would need significant time to recover. We decided to give her a room for herself, and as I stared at the fireplace, I spoke hesitantly.
“When do you think we should investigate this?”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like any monsters are coming out right now, so there’s no immediate rush,” Ethan replied nonchalantly. Then he added, “But the sooner, the better, don’t you think?”
He glanced at Harrison as if seeking agreement.
Harrison, arms crossed and staring at the fireplace, sighed and muttered his frustration to me.
“Honestly, I think it’s far too dangerous for you to lead any kind of search team. I can handle it instead. I’ll work twice as hard in your place.”
It was the first time I’d heard Harrison voice such a complaint. Though I was taken aback, I had to respond.
“Harrison.”
He looked at me with an expression that made it clear he wasn’t happy. I asked him bluntly:
“Can you punch a monster and send it flying?”
“...”
“I can. If you asked me to tear one apart, I think I could manage that too.”
“...Ha.”
“Discussion over, right?”
Beside us, Ethan shook with laughter, muttering something like, “This is driving me insane.” Nox, sitting by the bed, shook his head in disbelief.
“Still,” Nox interjected, “we should wait until tomorrow to investigate. Susanna just came back, and everything’s in disarray. We need to prepare contingency plans before heading in. Let’s observe for a day.”
Ethan nodded in agreement with Harrison’s suggestion.
As I was about to leave the room, Harrison caught my arm.
“We need to talk, Miss...”
Harrison had an excellent memory.
*****
Ethan carefully observed Cherry and Harrison.
Harrison acted as if he were Cherry’s father, while Cherry obediently followed his words like a well-behaved daughter.
“Shall we talk in the parlor?” Cherry asked Harrison. Despite being the one to suggest the parlor, she left the room with him like a prisoner being dragged to execution.
Ethan followed them out into the corridor, leaning against the wall as he silently watched the two walk toward the parlor at the far end.
Even as she closed the parlor door, Cherry didn’t meet Ethan’s gaze. He was right there, just a glance away, but her entire focus was on Harrison.
Now that he thought about it, even when Ethan had told her he wasn’t leaving, all she did was talk about milk. Her attitude had been so indifferent, as if it didn’t really matter to her.
“After all the help I’ve given Cherry, it seems she doesn’t care whether I stay or leave,” Ethan muttered to himself.
“What do you mean, I don’t care?” she had replied. “I was really sad, thinking I’d lose my morning milk-drinking companion.”
Milk... That was all she had to say.
Ethan sighed, swallowing a bitter chuckle.
Cherry didn’t seem to care about him at all—not even a little. She didn’t appear to need his help anymore either.
And yet, leaving without regret felt strangely difficult.
“Can Harrison punch a monster and send it flying?”
“I can. If you told me to tear one apart, I think I could do that too.”
She didn’t even consider her own safety.
She was the only one capable of combat in situations that required brute strength, but still, she was far too reckless with her own body.
Ethan knew that if he weren’t there, Cherry would try to handle it all by herself again.
And that... didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t quite explain why.
“I received a letter too. It said a monster would appear at 61 Notium Street and that people would die.”
“I saw the monster described in the letter. I was too scared to stay in the capital. The letter also said the monster was infectious. At first, I didn’t really believe it.”
“I told you—I’ve got nothing but money, so I was looking for excitement. But when I came here and saw the farmer transform, I realized the letter was right. I don’t know who sent it, but everything in it was true. Look at the world now, destroyed by an infectious monster.”
I reused the same excuse I had given Ethan, tweaking it slightly for Harrison. My story had to stay consistent across everyone I told it to.
Harrison, who was taking my words very seriously, asked, “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“I did tell you, Harrison. I even said to visit the hospital. I’m hurt, you know.”
“Well, that’s...”
“It’s fine. Honestly, even I wouldn’t have believed me.”
I quickly cut him off, feigning a hurt expression as I lowered my head. Harrison sighed heavily.
“Any clues about who sent the letter?”
“Only that Lady Lancaster received a similar one.”
“Lancaster...”
Harrison murmured the name, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t seem to make any connections. He sighed again, frustrated.
“With the world like this, finding any clues will be nearly impossible,” he said.
I nodded.
“But, Harrison, when did you find out about my strength?”
Although we were practically family now, back then, I had been too shy to tell him about my abilities.
“I knew from the beginning. Chairman Sinclair told me.”
“What? Then do you know where my father got the drugs?”
Harrison shook his head. “I looked into it, but I couldn’t find anything. The source remains a mystery.”
Even Harrison didn’t know? That only made me more curious.
“For now, it seems there’s no way to uncover the truth about anything. I wonder if the world will ever return to normal...”
Harrison sighed again, his face full of concern.
But I wasn’t worried. If Aurora and Theodore were involved, they’d fix this somehow. I trusted them.
If they don’t, they’re losing their protagonist status...!
Besides, information would be much easier to gather in the capital.
Wait, did the novel mention Westmore being blocked off?
I couldn’t recall. But since Aurora’s group had visited Brunel about six months after the world ended, the roads probably weren’t closed in the story.
Well, world peace is the protagonists’ job anyway.
I was too busy maintaining Happy House to concern myself with that.
Susanna’s recovery was expected to take weeks. After examining her, Nox said it would take at least that long.
Since she hadn’t woken up after explaining her situation, Nox reassured us that it was likely her first proper sleep in a long time.
Unable to wait any longer, I decided to explore the underground passage with Ethan.
Everyone in Happy House gathered around the fireplace.
“Sir Ethan,” I called softly.
Ethan nodded, casually waving the revolver in his hand.
Harrison, after lighting the lantern placed on the floor, handed it to me.
“Be careful, Miss,” he said.
“Please make sure the door opens. It can’t be opened from the inside,” I reminded him.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Harrison nodded, but it was Nox who replied.
“With so many people here, don’t worry, Miss Cherry.”
Reassured by the number of people in the room, I followed Ethan and stepped carefully into the fireplace.