The house Roseliel had chosen was already the closest one to the windmill, and combined with the relatively slow movement of the living corpses, the three easily shook off the corpse swarm and swiftly reached the windmill.
"W-Wait... let me catch my breath..." Roseliel flopped onto the ground with zero noble etiquette. She felt as though her lungs were about to burst, and her throat burned as if on fire. It seemed this body had never engaged in such intense exercise before.
Mona beside her was in no better shape, propping her hands on her knees while her calves trembled.
Lucia, who was in the best condition of the three, had already walked over to the windmill's front door. She pushed against it with force, but the door didn't budge at all, as if barricaded from the inside by something.
She frowned, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword, prepared to chop it open.
"Wait! Someone's inside!" Roseliel called out to stop her.
Lucia paused her draw and turned back to ask, "How do you know?"
"Because I have a brain!" Roseliel struggled to her feet, patting the dust off her skirt. "The door is barricaded from the inside, so someone's likely hiding in there."
This wasn't actual deduction, of course; it was a plot point from her memories. But she needed to make it sound plausible enough in front of Lucia.
Lucia glanced at her without arguing. "Then how do we get in?"
She knocked loudly on the wooden door, making its worn hinges rattle.
After she called out two or three times, a second-floor window creaked open.
A flaxen-haired girl poked her head out, her expression filled with shock and doubt as her gaze swept over the three of them several times.
"You... you're living people?!"
Seeing a stranger, Mona shrank back a little.
"As alive as can be! We were passing through the town looking to rest, but we had no idea it had turned out like that! We just want to take shelter here for a moment!"
"Over here!" The girl tossed a rope ladder down from the window. The three quickly approached and climbed inside.
The interior looked somewhat tidier than the outside. A blanket was laid over the floor, and a few pieces of dry rations along with water skins were piled in the corner, showing that the sisters had been trapped here for several days.
Besides that, another girl was lying on the ground. She bore a striking resemblance to the first girl, though younger, her face so pale it was almost entirely bloodless, her forehead covered in cold sweat.
"My name is Amy, and this is my younger sister, Nancy," the girl who had lowered the rope ladder introduced. Her face was dirty and sallow, making her look thoroughly exhausted. "We were originally residents of this town. Not long ago, we went to the Royal Capital for a trip, but who would have thought that after returning, the town..."
As she spoke, tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes.
"Father and Uncle did everything they could to cover our escape. We originally intended to leave immediately, but Nancy accidentally got scratched by a living corpse and couldn't ride a horse." She wiped away a tear, pointing at the girl on the ground. "We planned to stay here for a while and leave once she got better, but recently she..."
At this point, her emotions finally gave out, and she began to sob uncontrollably. "She's been running a fever lately and talking nonsense. What am I supposed to do? She's the only family I have left..."
"It's alright, it's alright. We're here now," Lucia said, stepping forward to draw her into a hug. She gently stroked Amy's hair, comforting her in a soft voice.
Her voice seemed to possess a magic quality; Amy's crying quickly quieted down, gradually turning into soft whimpers.
As expected of the game's protagonist.
"Mona, come take a look," Roseliel said, paying no attention to the scene over there as she approached Nancy on the ground and called for Mona.
Mona approached, leaning down to carefully examine Nancy's wound.
The wound was on her forearm, already wrapped in bandages, with a bit of dried black blood seeping out underneath.
Mona leaned in to sniff it, her brow furrowing instantly. "It's a living corpse scratch—it carries a curse, and it has already seeped deep inside. I'm afraid..."
The corpseification curse was a mechanic much like the zombie virus in apocalyptic novels from her previous life. Transformed living corpses could spread the curse through attacks, turning anyone scratched into a living corpse as well.
Roseliel nodded; it was just as she had guessed.
Nancy had been wounded for quite a while. The skin around the scratch was already turning black, with fine, dark teal veins spreading upward along her blood vessels.
If they hadn't arrived today, Nancy would likely have been completely transformed by tomorrow.
Roseliel turned her head toward Lucia, in whose arms Amy had finally calmed down.
"Feeling better?" Lucia looked down at her with a gentle smile, her tone exceedingly soft.
"Much better... thank you." Amy blushed slightly under her gaze.
Roseliel rolled her eyes.
Just what kind of charm did this dark-hearted, violent woman have anyway?!
Completely forgetting that back when she played the game, she too had been head over heels for the protagonist.
"Ahem." She cleared her throat twice. "Lucia, come take a look over here."
She waved a hand toward Lucia.
Lucia walked over to them and saw the wound on Nancy, who was lying on the ground, her brow furrowing as well.
"You should be able to handle this, right?" Roseliel asked.
In the game, the Saintess had successfully saved this girl, but Roseliel worried about some butterfly effect.
After all, current developments were already vastly different from the game's plot. In the game, the character who had pulled the Saintess out from her rock bottom accompanied her on the investigation, along with several companions who came to help.
Yet now, there was only herself plus Mona.
"I can, but..." She hesitated for a moment. "Curing it will generate noticeable magic fluctuations, which will most likely attract those living corpses."
This was just a dilapidated windmill. While it might be more than enough to block a few living corpses wandering over by accident, if all the living corpses in the village came swarming in, they would definitely be doomed.
"I beg of you!" Hearing their conversation and realizing there was hope, Amy suddenly fell to her knees, pleading, "She's the only family I have left now! I beg you to save her!"
Lucia quickly pulled her up. "Get up, quickly! I will definitely save her, but we need to figure out a way first!"
"Thank you, thank you!"
Amy clutched her arms, her eyes filled with desperate entreaty.
"This..."
Lucia hesitated. She desperately wanted to save this child too, but the current situation simply wouldn't allow it.
Right now, the only ones with any combat capability were herself and Mona. If the corpse swarm attacked, all five of them might risk losing their lives here.
The best choice, without a doubt, was to leave Nancy behind, get out of here, report the town's situation to the guards, and completely purge the area.
However, let alone her older sister Amy, not even Lucia could bring herself to choose that option.
I'm still not strong enough... not strong enough to save everyone with my own power...
A sense of helplessness welled up within Lucia's heart.
Just as it had when she watched the Snake Cultists attack her classmates.
"I really can't do anything with you." Just then, a voice that Lucia had once found immensely irritating sounded out, scattering her inner turmoil in an instant.
It was Roseliel.
"I have a plan!"
In such a dangerous situation, she smiled and spoke to everyone.
Rate on N.U.
