‘What the? Why did Ruth get here so fast?’
I expected Ruth Chricerne to arrive tonight at the earliest, but he showed up in front of me like some kind of express delivery.
I wondered why a living human was wandering around in front of the duchy, and it turned out to be Ruth.
‘Well, either way, it works out great for me!’
「Because you have another powerful fighter?」
‘Exactly.’
Nodding readily at Zero’s comment, I grabbed Ruth’s hand and headed toward the zombie-clearing team.
With Ruth alone worth a thousand soldiers, the tension that had been piling up inside me began to melt away.
When Ruth and I arrived at the third-floor gallery, where the wide windows were open, I saw the maids, the butler, the head maid, Marion, and Michael all standing by with crossbows and small magical bombs loaded into slingshots.
They were about to greet me, but when they saw Ruth Chricerne following right behind me holding my hand, they burst into excited cheers.
“Oh my goodness!”
Marion was the first to recognize him, of course.
Even though she’d barely ever seen quick-tempered, prickly Ruth in person, she immediately realized the person I brought was him.
“Sir Ruth! I didn’t think you’d arrive this fast…!”
「What the— is she crying?」
Zero clicked his tongue in disbelief as Marion teared up.
‘She must’ve been really stressed.’
I answered him casually, then placed Ruth beside the gallery window.
Unlike me, the staff waiting to attack the zombies were fired up with excitement.
“Sir Ruth Chricerne is already here?”
“He came unbelievably fast! Incredible—honestly, when he said he’d come through the communication artifact, I thought he was just being polite…”
“So that presence we felt outside earlier was Sir Ruth?”
People gathered around Ruth in a circle.
“W-wait, one at a time, one at a time.”
‘Too many people!’
For Ruth—an introverted shut-in who always locked himself in his research room at the Mage Tower—this was overwhelming. Sweat trickled down his temples.
Knowing he couldn’t handle this kind of situation, I quietly stepped between him and the others, then gave a little tap of my loaded gun.
“I know you’re all happy to see the wizard, but don’t forget our mission.”
“Oh!”
“Right, we can’t let those remaining zombies escape!”
At my reminder, Emily and Rose, the maids, Butler Patrick, and Head Maid Illiana all straightened up and aimed at the zombies again.
“There are two left at ten o’clock and eleven o’clock!”
“Two more at one and two o’clock!”
“The crossbows and magic bombs are ready to fire at any time!”
“Just give the order, my lady!”
They weren’t trained soldiers, but their coordinated teamwork and determination to kill the zombies looked amazing.
Michael approached me quietly.
“We’re ready. As you instructed… shall we fire?”
“Of course. Everyone, aim for the head of your target.”
Everyone gathered to hunt the zombies straightened with resolve, choosing which zombie to kill.
I also picked one and aimed from a corner of the gallery.
“When I count to three, everyone fires at the zombie you’ve been assigned. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Their voices boomed. They must’ve been impressed when I shot down two zombies earlier.
Ruth, who had just arrived, blinked cluelessly, not knowing what was going on.
“Um, Lady Keaton? What exactly is happening here?”
“What do you mean? We’re hunting zombies, just like what you saw earlier.”
“Excuse me?”
“Perfect timing! Ruth, could you cast some support spells to boost accuracy? It’ll help us wipe them out more easily.”
If I saved you, then help me out, okay?
He seemed to get the message, letting out a sigh as he took out several support spell circles.
“…Fine. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’ll follow your lead.”
“Good.”
No unnecessary complaints. Nice.
Ruth cast an accuracy-boosting spell on everyone, just as I requested.
『Pierce the target.』
A deep blue magic glow—like Ruth’s hair—spread across us.
A notification appeared above my head.
[Party Member: Ruth Chricerne’s Sniper Accuracy Buff Activated.]
[Accuracy of the temporary party ‘Zombie-Clearing Strike Squad’ has increased by 80%.]
‘Eighty percent… we might actually wipe them all out at once.’
Feeling excited, I aimed at a zombie stumbling near the front gate.
「Okay! Ready… aim… FIRE!」
‘Shut up, you lunatic.’
Ignoring Zero ruining my serious moment, I shouted:
‘When I count down, make sure my voice doesn’t reach those zombies!’
「That’s child’s play. Leave it to me.」
“One, two, three!”
At my count, everyone fired at their assigned zombies at once.
Bang!
BOOOOM!
Whsssh!
Gunshots, exploding magic bombs, and crossbow bolts whistled through the air, piercing the zombies’ heads.
All eight remaining zombies were hit simultaneously.
“Kieeeek!”
The zombies screamed and dropped to the ground with holes in their skulls.
Wiped out. Completely wiped out.
Emily and Rose stared at the limp zombie bodies like dropped marionettes and muttered blankly:
“D-did we… do it…?”
I turned to Ruth to confirm.
“Mr. Ruth, sorry, but could you use magic to check if all those zombies are really dead?”
“……”
For some reason, Ruth just stared blankly at my face.
“Hey?”
“A-ah.”
I waved my hand in front of his eyes just in case he’d fainted while standing. His pupils finally refocused.
“Are you squeamish about this kind of stuff?”
“N-no, that’s not it.”
‘Then what is it?’
He avoided my eyes and stammered.
“I’ll do as you say, Lady Keaton. I’ll cast a detection spell, so please wait a moment.”
His face was strangely red. I wondered if he was exhausted from the nonstop teleportation.
“Are you suffering from mana burnout? If it’s too much, I can have Marion or another mage do it. Don’t push yourself.”
“N-no… please let me do it.”
His voice sounded oddly fired up.
Watching him fumble while chanting a detection spell, I tilted my head.
‘What’s up with him?’
「He likes you.」
Zero answered in a grumpy tone. I snorted.
‘That’s a joke, right? You keep talking nonsense today. If you’re just trying to annoy me, cut it out.’
「Hey, you fool! I’m not joking this time—seriously—」
‘Say something believable. Ruth? Liking me?’
There’s no way Ruth Chricerne would ever feel anything positive toward Elizabeth Keaton.
Even in the original story, those two practically wanted to kill each other. Saving him once doesn’t completely rewrite that.
‘I get that you’re some admin lackey up there, but you’re totally wrong this time.’
There’s a limit to nonsense. Geez.
When I ignored him completely, Zero smacked his chest dramatically.
「Ugh! I’m serious! Trust my intuition!」
‘Whatever. Just give me the loot from killing the zombies.’
At my cold response, Zero muttered irritably,
「I swear it’s true…」
This guy got a Korean-language update and suddenly thinks this is a romance drama. In a zombie apocalypse? Please.
I ignored Zero and turned back to Ruth. He quickly reported the results.
“All the fallen zombies have head-penetration wounds. And since none of them show even the slightest movement, I conclude they’re completely exterminated.”
At his words, the maids and servants who had fought using crossbows and magic bomb slingshots brightened up.
“S-so that means…!”
“We really wiped out those zombies?!”
Their eyes sparkled as Ruth nodded.
“That’s correct.”
“Woooaaaah!”
At Ruth’s confirmation, Emily, Rose, Patrick, and Illiana all threw their hands up and cheered.
“We did it!”
Even Marion had joined in, celebrating their first victory.
Hugging each other like they were doing a folk circle dance, they spun around in excitement. I let them enjoy it.
‘The thrill of accomplishing something that felt impossible… I get it.’
It’s good to give them time to savor it.
I watched them with a faint smile as they shouted with hope. Then Michael approached me.
“Hm? Yes, Sir Michael?”
“…Um.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“You were impressive earlier. I didn’t know your marksmanship was that extraordinary. I dare say, if you’d served as a sniper, you would’ve achieved great merit.”
“Oh… well, yeah.”
‘Good thing the original Elizabeth was also obsessed with hunting.’
I replied vaguely, thankful for the compliment.
“Mostly luck, really.”
Who knew the stress-relieving hours I spent at shooting ranges back on Earth would become this useful?
I felt a bit hyped myself.
‘I did it.’
In this hellish zombie crisis, I protected my territory together with everyone here!
I couldn’t show it outwardly, but victory sent a satisfying shiver down my spine.
“Thank you too, Sir Michael, for helping with the crossbow.”
“No… I was contractually obligated to assist.”
Because of the sunlight behind him, I couldn’t clearly see his expression.
‘I didn’t know he could speak so gently.’
「Wow… that’s a green light. A GREEN LIGHT—」
What is wrong with Zero today?
Too annoyed to even tell him to shut up, I turned away and saw Ruth Chricerne.
For some reason, he was staring only at me, looking feverish.
“Why? Are you overheating?”
As I reached to feel his forehead, he jumped back three steps like I had a knife.
“No! It’s nothing, so please don’t come closer!”
‘…Hmm.’
Hey. I’m not a virus. Don’t flinch like that—I’ll get hurt.
Still, I appreciated what he’d done, so I spoke honestly.
“Thank you, Ruth. For rushing here without rest.”
“……!”
I swear I heard something pop.
“I-it’s—it’s nothing!”
‘What is with him?’
And now that I think of it… isn’t he using formal speech with me? When earlier he was talking casually?
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