Chapter 5
I tapped the location of the cabin with my index finger.
“This is the Eastern Shelter—where we are right now.”
Within the Sacred Zone, cabins were referred to as shelters, and there was one positioned in each of the four cardinal directions.
Shelters were places where bereaved families, with permission from the temple, could pay their respects to the deceased. Since most of the dead—aside from fallen commoner soldiers—came from the upper class, the shelters were meticulously maintained.
They were stocked with high-grade food preserved through magical embalming, clean bedding, and even spare clothes.
“Our plan is simple.”
Secure the central safe zone by throwing a grenade.
Break through the zombie horde and reach the safe zone.
Cross the “Split Land” in the central cemetery and head north to the Sacred Forest.
For reference, the Sacred Forest was protected by barriers and therefore safe from zombies.
After finishing my explanation, I met the Crown Prince’s gaze.
“From here on, we divide tasks. I’ll gather food from the Eastern Shelter. I’ll give Your Highness a lightweight magic kit—use it to tear down one side of the cabin and make a raft bridge. This place looks like it’ll collapse soon anyway, so there’s no issue using it.”
“A raft bridge?”
At the questioning tone in his voice, I glanced at him and traced a line with my finger toward the central cemetery, roughly 200 to 300 meters away from the Eastern Shelter.
The center, surrounded by graves, had collapsed into ravines in all four directions—what we called the Split Land.
“This is the closest point between the Eastern Shelter and the Split Land. We’ll use the raft bridge to cross it.”
The ground break caused by the earthquake was about two meters wide.
Maybe the Crown Prince could manage it, but for me—already exhausted from combat—even with decent reflexes, it would be risky.
“I see.”
The Crown Prince nodded slowly as he looked at me.
As I stared into those gleaming golden eyes, the original story resurfaced in my mind.
In the novel, Redria steals food from the Eastern Shelter—the one with the most supplies—and escapes through a dimensional cave.
Left alone in the shelter, the Crown Prince becomes isolated after the fence collapses and ends up hiding in the storage room.
He barely escapes three days later, but… tragically, he develops claustrophobia from the trauma.
There was no guarantee I wouldn’t end up the same way if I got trapped here too.
At the thought, my throat tightened.
Keeeek—!
Zombie shrieks echoed from outside the cabin.
The Crown Prince and I turned toward the window at the same time, exchanging a glance.
We both knew.
From this point on, survival meant moving—relentlessly.
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After dividing our roles, we worked in silence.
The Crown Prince was fast with his hands and completed the raft bridge in no time.
I shrank the food and relief supplies in the shelter using a miniaturization kit and packed them into my backpack.
Once preparations were complete, I stepped outside and found the Crown Prince already waiting.
Keeeek—!
With the raft bridge strapped to his back by rope, he stood facing the zombies beyond the fence.
I walked over to his side.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with him, facing the zombies through the fence, it felt strangely solemn—like a scene straight out of a zombie movie.
I glanced at him and asked,
“What are you staring at?”
“Estimating.”
“Estimating what?”
“Whether I can subjugate the zombies to the east.”
…Why would you bother subjugating them, you lunatic…
Sensing my fed-up stare, the Crown Prince smirked faintly without taking his eyes off the front.
“My, Lady. That’s quite an irreverent look.”
We’d only been together for a few hours, yet I already felt ten years more worn out.
Letting out a breath, I rubbed my face once and pulled out my hammer.
“In combat, aim for their heads. That’s their weak point.”
“…Their what?”
Turning toward me, the Crown Prince asked with an expression that clearly said I’ve never heard that word in my life.
Ah. Right. They don’t have that slang here.
I tapped my temple with a finger.
“Their heads.”
He let out a disbelieving laugh.
“As expected of the infamous young lady—your choice of words is remarkably refined.”
“Thank you.”
I felt his eyebrow twitch at my curt reply, but I ignored it.
Grrrrk—!
A particularly close groan echoed.
Looking up, I saw a zombie being shoved forward like a wave, its head caught on the fence.
Clatter—!
It finally toppled inward. Two more followed.
Just as I raised my hammer warily, the Crown Prince stepped past me at a leisurely pace.
“You said the head was the weak point.”
His steps toward the skeleton were unhurried. The spear clenched in his fist expanded in an instant.
He lightly released it—then caught it again and swung.
A razor-sharp gust slammed the fence backward, and the skulls of three zombies flew off at once.
Crack!
The skulls shattered as they hit the ground at blinding speed. The remaining bones collapsed one by one—arms, legs—clattering into a heap.
I let out a hollow laugh as one skull rolled toward me like a ball.
He hadn’t even grazed them directly.
He took them down with sheer wind pressure.
Swish—.
The Crown Prince rested the spear on his shoulder and turned to me, disappointment clear in his eyes.
“That’s it? How boring.”
What exactly were you expecting?
…I knew he was insane the moment he started grinning at zombies like they were entertainment.
Still, his combat power was reassuring.
Clicking my tongue, I headed toward the gate. The Crown Prince followed casually.
What I pulled out in front of the fence was a dark green grenade.
A high-explosive device modified by my eccentric brother, Hayton—designed to embed metal fragments into zombie bones, with a kill radius of about fifty meters.
Holding it up in the air, I smiled brightly.
I’ll handle the dangerous part.
“So—who’s throwing it?”
The Crown Prince stared at me like I’d said something absurd. There were only two of us here—him or me.
“I’ll do it.”
He took the grenade naturally, like water flowing downhill.
Whoosh—!
Before I could stop him, he pulled the pin and hurled it straight into the zombie horde.
You lunatic! You’re supposed to warn me first!
I watched the grenade arc through the sky, my mouth slowly falling open.
That looked casual—so why is it flying that far…?
It traveled over eighty meters before landing among the zombies.
KABOOM—!
A split second after the explosion, the ground shook.
The zombie cries diminished, and through the gray dust spreading from the blast site, I saw it—
A wide, empty space.
Good. The safe zone is secured.
But relief was short-lived.
Keeeek—!
Just like in the original story, the fence—already being torn apart—split cleanly into two.
I turned to the Crown Prince and urgently pointed.
“Your Highness, kick the fence!”
Clang—!
Reacting instantly, he kicked it.
The fence fell backward, sending the zombies tumbling like dominoes.
My heart pounded as I realized we’d barely avoided disaster.
If we’d delayed any longer, the zombies would’ve flooded the cabin and trapped us—just like in the novel.
But there was no time to relax.
I bit my lip and stared ahead.
Keeeek—!
Crushed beneath the fallen fence, zombies began forcing fingers and heads through the square gaps.
Some abandoned trapped legs to crawl out. Others, spines broken, dragged themselves forward with only their arms.
Damn it…
Swallowing my curses, I jerked my chin toward the blast zone.
“Your Highness, I’ll take the lead to that point. Please cover the rear.”
Leading would make it easier to deal with the zombies that were just staggering upright.
“If that’s more comfortable for you, then do so.”
He replied, eyes sweeping the area.
I murmured an incantation, enlarging the hammer in my hand.
With its weight settling perfectly into my palm, it felt like dormant instincts were awakening one by one.
This is it.
Only now did it truly sink in—I was about to charge barehanded into a zombie horde.
Just as I braced myself, the Crown Prince spoke again, eyes fixed on the undead.
“Care for a wager, my lady?”
“A wager about what?”
I snapped back irritably. This was no time for nonsense.
“Who kills more zombies. If I win, I’ll grant you one wish.”
“…Actually, I killed over a hundred before you woke up. That counts too, right?”
“Ha.”
At my sparkling eyes, he let out a low laugh.
“Fine. That just makes it more interesting.”
Interesting, my ass.
I shot him a glare, drew in my core, and shouted—
“Run!”
