Volume 1 Chapter 19
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I can hear the groans of zombies.
Since entering the Ghost Knight’s area, undead creatures have been wandering everywhere. Even though I’m used to it from horror games, it doesn’t make it any less creepy.
”Undead are a pain.”
The Maid swings her longsword and decapitates a zombie. Even when faced with a horde of zombies, she doesn’t change her expression at all. While backing away, she accurately targets the zombies’ necks.
”Yodomizu’s instant death magic doesn’t work on them.”
Maybe because they’re already dead, it didn’t affect the zombies. I haven’t figured it out yet, but it probably won’t work on the Ghost Knight either.
”Last time, we had a student who could use light magic, so we didn’t struggle too much to take them down…”
The Maid teleports to a spot with fewer zombies, confusing their movements.
Zombies are tough to defeat unless you destroy their heads, making them more troublesome than goblins. Plus, it seems that those who were strong in life retain their abilities even as zombies, which is a real hassle.
Especially──the zombies that were once Hero Candidates like us are formidable enemies that make me feel a real sense of danger.
The eyes of a zombie in a school uniform glow red, and light converges in the air. An explosion occurs immediately, and a shockwave and gust of wind rush in. I’m managing to lessen the pain by using my Battle Axe as a shield, but I really don’t want to fight this guy for long.
”Mr. Hyakudou.”
The Maid calls my name urgently.
She probably wants me to kill it quickly. I get it. If I were in her position, I would think the same.
”…He was my friend.”
”Right now, he’s Demonkind.”
”I want to capture him somehow.”
”You can’t capture someone who uses explosion magic.”
”One day, I should be able to heal him with magic.”
”I’ve never seen a vaccine, and healing magic couldn’t turn him back into a human.”
The Maid’s words are reasonable. I’m just flailing around pathetically. I know that killing him is the best option.
But──this zombie was definitely my friend.
Akatsuka Jouya. A nice guy, always cracking jokes and had a bright personality.
In the end, I couldn’t make it. I still can’t accept that fact, and I’m desperately trying to find a way to avoid killing… but it doesn’t seem like there’s any way out.
I’m having the 4 of us look for something that could change the situation. We’re trying to hold things off so there won’t be any more victims… but I don’t think we can last much longer.
The Maid said there was no way to help last time either. Apparently, if you got bitten by a zombie, it was game over. Way more troublesome than goblins, that’s for sure.
”Wasting time.”
The Maid teleports and beheads the zombie in front of Akatsuka.
I don’t feel any anger. Instead, I just want to apologize for dragging things out unnecessarily.
”…Even though I just watched a friend get killed, I’m surprisingly okay.”
After taking care of the remaining zombies, the Maid glanced over at me.
”You remind me of myself. Eiichi… right? You didn’t seem too shaken when you saw that classmate get killed.”
That’s not true.
”You’re mistaken. I was hurt a lot, and it took a toll on me.”
”But you didn’t start screaming emotionally. Even now, you’re acting rationally on the surface, even though you probably wanted to settle things yourself. That’s quite impressive.”
I don’t feel happy being praised for that. It feels more like I’m being accused of being a cold, unfeeling person.
”I’ve been like this since I was young. My parents were emotionless people… maybe it’s genetic.”
But I must have cried as a baby. I have memories of crying when I was in kindergarten too. Each time, my parents would scold me, and I’d feel pain… before I knew it, I stopped shedding tears. When you get hit for being weak, you learn not to cry, whether you like it or not.
”Dealing with emotional people is exhausting… so it’s a relief that you’re calm. If you were cold enough to just kill quickly, I might have fallen for you.”
If I were to fall for a cold-blooded killer, wouldn’t I just fall in love with my own reflection?
”I’m sorry for being indecisive. I don’t want to become a cold person like my parents.”
”I see. Is that why you’ve been troubled?”
Raised by a cold parent, I didn’t want to end up like this. But now, even when my friend dies, I can’t feel that sad. I want to be shaken up enough to cry, but here I am, chatting with the Maid like nothing’s wrong. I guess that’s just how it is with family.
”How did you grow up to have such a personality?”
When I asked, the Maid smiled brightly. She looked like a perfect beauty, and I couldn’t help but think she was really pretty.
”When I first came to the Island, I was panicking too, you know? I got used to someone dying and to killing someone… and that’s how I became who I am now.”
That sounds like a lie. People don’t change that much in just a few months. She must have been a heartless woman from the start.
”If you can’t adapt, you’ll just die. The kind-hearted me probably died on this Island. The weak me died, and only the strong me remains. That’s how it is.”
The Maid’s smile seemed to say, “So you should kill your weak self too.”
”I think it’s rational to become cold to survive, but… I don’t want to go that far. If it means abandoning my friends to live, I’d rather die with them.”
”That softness will end up getting your friends killed.”
”Yeah, I can’t argue with that. I couldn’t kill Akatsuka, and you almost got caught in that explosion magic too.”
I know it’s better to draw a line and be decisive, but it’s hard to reflect that in my actions.
”Well, maybe that’s fine for you. If you’re willing to help even as a zombie, then there’s enough benefit to being allies.”
”Seriously, you’re so calculating.”
”If you can’t do it, I’ll be the one to be ruthless instead. Leave the dirty work to me; I’m good at it.”
Even though she says I’m her friend, she wouldn’t hesitate to cut me down. I bet this Maid would slice me up with a smile even if I turned into a zombie.
”You don’t have to force yourself to be the bad guy, you know? I actually prefer the kind Maid.”
”Being a sharp-tongued maid isn’t so bad, Master.”
”In your case, you’re more like a murder maid.”
To put it bluntly, she’s just a killer wearing a maid outfit.
”Leave the cleaning to me. I’ll solve it quickly, zoom zoom!”
”Well, to be honest, that’s quite helpful. I tend to have a decent impression of even the worst people. I try to be careful about it myself, though…”
The maid probably makes decisions faster. Relying on her for this feels a bit off, but it’s clear that being more ruthless to protect my friends is the right call. I’ll keep that in mind.
”Oh? Is it okay if I kill on my own judgment?”
”That’s your freedom to begin with. Unless you’re just randomly killing people, it’s only natural to take out dangerous ones quickly.”
”I thought you might stop me… but it seems like we can get along for a long time.”
The maid was in a good mood. How can accepting murder boost her likability? What kind of person is she? But hey, if she’s on my side, that’s reassuring.
”You would have killed that Tatejima guy without hesitation, right?”
”Actually, I’ve probably already killed another one of your classmates. I don’t know his name, but he wore glasses.”
”…Was he a short guy who acted all high and mighty?”
”That sounds like him. He was lying, so I went ahead and killed him.”
Her motives for murder are way too light. If I had messed up the deal with the maid, I might have been killed too. No wonder she survived on the Island of Trials.
”Did you have any friends before coming to the Island?”
”That’s a bit rude. I was a well-liked, refined honor student. I killed my best friend because she tried to deceive me, though.”
She talks about it with a smile, like it doesn’t even traumatize her. I wonder why, but she kind of reminds me of my big sister…
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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