Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I rose from the bed.

My head felt heavy after sleeping for so long.

[Patience] suppressed the pain as if insisting that we push through it.

I looked out the window.

Strong rain poured down onto the ground and created a clear sound.

Zombies reacted more slowly in the rain.

The ones that usually wandered nearby were nowhere to be seen for that reason.

“Ugh, damn it! How can something like this happen.”

I had not even been back for a full day, yet the outside was already noisy again.

I pressed my fingers against my forehead.

I forced myself to fight the urge to sleep for a little longer and got up from the bed.

When I stepped into the hallway, people were gathered near the front entrance.

Lucille, Tania, and Gavinu were there.

Each of the three wore a different expression while looking beyond the front door.

“What is going on so early in the morning?”

“Gasp!”

Tania turned with a startled expression.

The other two were just as uneasy.

“...About that.”

When the girl hesitated with fear on her face, her older sister Lucille stepped forward.

“We were robbed.”

“What exactly was stolen?”

“The food. It looks like Perret took the food we left in the dining hall when he was on watch and ran off with it. That bastard. I trusted him, so why would he do something like this! I am sorry. I should have overseen things better.”

“I see.”

I answered calmly.

This was a common theft event in THE Survival.

It had simply arrived on schedule.

That mild sense of resignation passed through my mind.

[Cool] did not blame anything either.

If you wanted to block all unexpected variables, you would need to monitor and control the group completely.

There were advantages to that, but the disadvantage was clear. It ruined relationships.

I could not attempt such a thing lightly.

I also lacked the ability to do so in my current state.

In the end, it was a matter of trust.

Perret had given off a bad impression, but I had not expected him to stab us in the back.

Even so, losing only one backpack was fortune within misfortune.

“There were no signs that he entered my room. That means the stolen backpack is one of the three.”

“...That’s true, but,”

“With one backpack feeding five people, we can last two weeks easily. We can survive a month, and within that time we can find a new base or head to the tower.”

“Yes, what you say is logical. But that does not change the fact that Perret betrayed us. Are you not angry at all?”

“No. I actually felt relieved.”

“Relieved?”

Lucille opened her eyes wide in disbelief.

She could not know as this was the first and only life she lived in this world.  

This life was her entire world, but what was happening now was nothing unusual when compared to what happens in THE Survival.

“If I were Perret, I could have killed all of you while you slept and stolen the food.”

“...Oh.”

Crises in the apocalypse were usually negative, but there were still levels of severity.

If the worst had not happened, we should be thankful.

We were still alive.

Then all we needed to do was prepare for the next step.

That was all.

“The fact that he did not do that means the knight still had some last bit of conscience left.”

It seemed she had not considered that.

Her companions had all left her for various reasons.

Hard-earned spoils had been lost.

When reason falters, only resentment and anger remain.

“B-But I am not sure this is something we should just let go…”

“It is a comedy indeed. The knights who supposedly protect the Royal Academy tried to kill us, tried to abandon us, and now they stole from us. If we continue relying on knights after all this, we would be no different from fools.”

“I will help enough to cover even for their faults!”

Lucille pressed her hand against her chest and made a promise.

I answered with a disinterested expression.

“Do you really think one sentence is enough for me to stop doubting you?”

“What do you want from me then?”

“I don't want anything in particular. Just keep acting as you always do. Lose your temper sometimes, look down on people beneath you, and fight when you feel like it.”

“...Hey, you think of me like that? When we returned from Triden, the atmosphere between us felt positive I thought!”

“That was before Perret stabbed us in the back. My trust in knights just dropped through the floor.”

Lucille looked shocked.

As a knight and noble, she had probably never felt isolated in any group.

But now things were different.

Her companions were dead or gone.

Her younger sister was here, but her influence within the group was not strong.

The leadership belonged to me.

Although none of that was her fault, what can be done? As long as she wore the label of knight, she had to bear this burden.

The mess left by one ally ought to be cleaned up by another.

Her proud expression was distorted because of me.

It was more satisfying than I expected.

“I-I’ll work hard.”

“Pardon?”

“You saw it too. My skills are not bad, you know? So… let us work well together.”

Lucille’s face turned bright red.

She turned her eyes away and looked at Tania.

Tania stared wide-eyed at her older sister’s behavior.

For someone who never backed down, this was the equivalent of lowering her head.

“Very well. I will overlook it this time as a special favor.”

“Haha. How veeeery kind. Thank you indeed.”

Even in her awkward smile, I could sense killing intent.

She let out a long sigh afterward.

Something seemed to swell inside her, but she managed to suppress it.

“Sir Joshua, are you not thinking of pursuing him?”

Gavinu finally spoke, waiting for a chance to join in.

The young trainee knight was eager to retrieve the stolen rations.

“The rain and wind are too strong. Pursuit is impossible. Any tracks would have been washed away. But if you want to cling to a one percent chance, I will not stop you. Any food you find is yours.”

A few sentences were enough to break the boy’s resolve.

“I’ll bring only today’s rations to the dining room. We will distribute and eat as usual. As for future plans, we will discuss them in a few days. Talleon, Lucille, and I need rest.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

I signaled to Tania with my eyes.

She went to retrieve the food from the backpack inside the room.

“My sister is not a bad person. She will help you and help us survive.”

“I see.”

“She could not say it, but my sister must also be confused. She lost all her comrades. If it were me, I might have cried right there. She is not crying because she is strong. She can put things down because she is strong.”

Tania spoke with tension in her voice.

I felt slightly guilty toward her.

I had used Tania. Words spoken in front of family demanded greater resolve than words spoken in private.

Watching your family be humiliated was not pleasant.

It was simply uncomfortable.

Even if Tania grew displeased with me, I could not deny responsibility.

“I agree. Lucille may be different from the other knights.”

So I praised Lucille.

This was the only way to soothe her wounded pride.

We entered the room.

I took out bread and cheese and placed them in her hands.

“Thank you.”

“Hmm?”

“My sister told me that you faced danger in the village to get food. That you almost died. I did nothing and simply ate what others brought, so I thought I must at least thank you. Though that’s nowhere near enough.”

“You protected the base. That was an important duty.”

“Nothing happened. I just stood watch and checked whether anyone was coming.”

“Something does not need to go wrong for it to have value. Protecting this place without incident is an achievement. You and Gavinu deserve this food.”

Her eyes glistened and she bowed deeply before leaving the room.

I sat on the bed.

[Main quest, Encounter with the Knights, cleared.]

- You removed the hidden threat within the knight order.

Reward - 30 Coins.

[Coins owned: 50]

With the three knights gone, the quest was complete.

Lucille was no longer an enemy.

It was time to plan the next step.

But before that, I needed to check the items I brought from Triden.

I took the chickens out from the inventory.

“Cluck cluck!!”

The chickens cried loudly.

Fortunately the rainfall muffled the noise.

I must not let the others learn of their existence yet.

I glared at the rooster.

“Be quiet before I pluck all your feathers and turn you into soup.”

It shivered.

Then it suddenly became quiet.

Even if it did not understand my words, it understood instinctively what situation it was in.

“Here, eat it.”

I tore apart bread from the ration backpack and scattered it like feed.

The two chickens rushed over and devoured it.

These creatures could not reproduce well here. They needed something like a barn.

There had been an abandoned farm near Line Tower.

It would soon be time to leave the dormitory.

It was unfortunate to abandon a base where zombies had already been cleared.

But there were no other advantages to staying.

Location mattered.

This place was too far from resource points.

It was also too far from other survivor bases.

[Name: Joshua Pallarion.]

[Fifth year (18) - Novice.]

[Potential abilities - Ancestral Inheritance (holy), Master of Acquisition, Speed Reading.]

[Personality traits - [Steady Nerves], [Cool], [Clever], [Patience], [Loner], [Nocturnal].]

[Acquired traits - Leadership (low), Eloquence (mid), Charisma (low).]

[Coins owned - 50.]

[Inventory - Two slots open.]

[Originality LV1 - Holy magic.]

[Spells - Shield, Purification, Flash, Serenity.]

[Stamina: 25]

[Strength: 20]

[Agility: 20]

[Magic power: 200]

[Holy power: (1500)]

[Stamina rose to D rank.]

[Strength rose to E rank.]

[Agility rose to E rank.]

My efforts in Triden had paid off.

My stats improved across the board, and my inventory now had two open slots.

That was not all.

Reading the scripture from the cathedral would grant holy power and new spells.

I opened the book.

Normally, for a devout believer, learning the teachings of a different god would be taboo.

It was strange. At a moment where any god would rage, my god was endlessly tolerant.

I looked toward the sky.

Even though I began reading the scripture, the Loner God issued no punishment.

It seemed he simply did not care.

I used Speed Reading and consumed the text in one go.

The God of Harmony.

Very different from the god the Pallarion family served.

The God of Harmony must have been widely revered.

But aside from that, the stories in the scripture were dull to me.

Still, I read it to the end.

The book contained experience that raised holy power.

[Originality rose to LV2.]

[You learned the spell Heal.]

[You learned the spell Analyze.]

[You learned the spell Bless, (Strength Enhancement).]

[Your holy power capacity increased to 2000.]

[If you follow the doctrine, you receive support from the god whose teachings you accepted.]

I closed the book.

Regardless of its content, it greatly helped strengthen my originality.

At level two, it was similar to a seventh rank Mithios.

With my knowledge added, I could match a sixth rank Vetus like Lucille.

I was now a proper mage.

Yet with the academy in ruins, promotion was no longer possible.

I might remain a novice forever.

I smiled.

Being low ranked had advantages equal to being high ranked.

It made enemies underestimate you.

You could exploit openings.

And in dangerous moments, low rank became an excuse to retreat.

It had been nearly a month.

Time had passed in the blink of an eye.

I expected to struggle to adapt, yet I handled things better than I imagined.

[Cool] puffed its chest.

[Clever] preened.

I shook my head to dispel their noise.

The priest I saw in the cathedral had been about to mutate. It was happening faster than scheduled.

THE Survival also had quests.

There were many playable characters like Joshua and Tania, some of whom could be considered protagonists.

I had to help as many as possible survive as long as possible.

To fight stronger and more numerous zombies, every survivor needed to struggle.

The more alive, the better my chances of survival became.

I should go where many people gather.

If I headed to Line Tower, where Lucille came from, I might encounter someone.