Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 30 - Ruth the Food Detector

Ruth was dumbfounded by my confident words.

“You want to use someone as talented and rare as me… to look for food?”

I could see Ruth’s silver-gray eyes trembling.

「He seems unable to accept it.」

‘Yeah. Not surprising, honestly.’

I was already fully prepared for Ruth’s pushback.

“What’s wrong with finding food? Food, clothing, and shelter are essential for human life.”

Among them, food is something absolutely indispensable to the people of K-country.

And besides, because of the zombie hordes swarming the capital, food had become more valuable than gold bars.

“Still, how could you use someone like me… to look for things to eat….”

Staggering in shock, Ruth looked beautifully pitiful, but I wasn’t the type to fall for a beauty tactic that flimsy.

‘If I can’t convince him, our meals will get worse and my chances of clearing the main quest will plummet. That would be a total disaster.’

With that thought, an unshakable determination surged inside me—no one could stop me now.

“You know, Mr. Ruth.”

“What.”

“If we can’t get food, we might have to survive on oatmeal porridge starting the day after tomorrow.”

For the record, this wasn’t an exaggerated lie.

“…….”

That one powerful blow made Ruth shut his mouth. Then, after a long moment of struggling, he finally made a decision.

“……Fine. I’ll bring something tasty.”

“Preferably meat.”

“Yes. And it’d be nice if we could add some fresh vegetables. And lots of sugar, too.”

“Oh dear, that depends on how well you find things, Mr. Ruth.”

Hahaha. Hohoho.

A round of meaningless laughter passed between us.

Then Ruth suddenly stopped laughing and spoke with an extremely serious face.

“Let’s go quickly. As fast as possible.”

“We’ll also need to check Du’o Street where the survivors might be, so moving like the wind might be difficult.”

“Even if it seems impossible, I’ll make it possible. That’s what a mage does.”

His grand words nearly made me snort instead of feel moved.

「Blue-haired mage, he really can’t stand others seeing him used like a food detector.」

‘Yeah… pfft. Seems that way.’

His pride couldn’t handle the idea of running around like an in-game looting pet.

I found teasing him way too fun, so I patted him lightly and whispered:

“Food and water are the most important resources for survival, aren’t they? You and Sir Michael are taking on a very noble and sacred task.”

And that wasn’t even wrong.

It meant only the three of us—me, Ruth, and Michael—would be roaming through the zombie-infested capital at great risk.

Even though I meant it half sincerely, Ruth ground his teeth after hearing it.

“But if the meals come out poorly, I won’t let it slide.”

“Of course.”

The Keaton Duchy’s head chef once worked in the imperial palace—his cooking was incredible.

“If we find a pig or a cow, I’ll give you the biggest and tastiest cut.”

And not just meat—if we found rare stuff like sugar or salt, I’d be willing to kiss him out of gratitude.

Not literally, but I definitely planned to beg the chef to make Ruth a proper dessert if we found sugar.

“If you don’t keep that promise, I’ll go on strike and ditch you.”

「If he wanted to ditch, he should’ve done it ages ago. Tsk tsk. It’s too late now, old man!」

Completely unaware of Zero’s mocking, Ruth tried to threaten me.

“I don’t forgive anyone who messes with my food.”

“Perfect. I’m the same.”

The more Ruth growled, the more small snickers slipped from my mouth.

“……Why do you keep laughing? Am I funny?”

“No. I just think you’ll work very diligently and without complaint when it comes to finding food.”

Ruth, this guy—he had a talent for digging his own grave.

I hadn’t said anything, yet he himself neatly slipped the noose around his own neck and tightened it.

“…….”

Ruth, realizing what he’d done, stopped grumbling. His face turned red like a ripe tomato.

Once he quieted down, things were much more pleasant.

I gently patted him again, since he looked completely stuck in the trap he set for himself.

“I’ll be counting on you, Mr. Ruth. Thanks to you, we won’t have to worry about finding food.”

If you even think about slacking, I’m not letting you off easy.

Twisting that sentiment into a kinder form, I spoke—and Ruth drooped his head in defeat.

“……Fine. I’ll work hard.”

Hehe, you should’ve said so from the start.

‘How satisfying.’

Feeling pleased, I noticed Michael muttering next to me.

“You’re very skilled at training people…….”

「That’s exactly what I was thinking, Holy Knight.」

“What can I say? I’m just that good.”

What, why? I had the duty to ensure proper participation as the party leader.

Faced with a five-star, insanely difficult group assignment, I had thrown away face and pride alike.

When I mixed joking with sincerity, Ruth, Michael, and even Zero all grimaced.

“That wasn’t a compliment, Your Grace.”

“How do you manage to interpret it as one?”

「You really should know you’re a strange lunatic.」

‘What did I do!’

We bickered, but in the end, the three of us decided to go outside the duchy together.

‘Just wait a little longer, original story’s sub male lead #3.’

I’ll save you, get the bonus quest reward, and smash this zombie hell to pieces.

As I burned with fierce determination, Michael raised his hand with a question.

“Then… when are we leaving?”

“Right now.”

“……Pardon?”

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

 

In most novels, the imperial palace or grand noble estates always have secret passageways.

The Keaton Duchy was no exception. The original “Elizabeth Keaton,” being an only daughter, had inherited knowledge of the mansion’s secret passages from her father, Henry.

Elizabeth hated studying and was considered stupid both inside and outside the mansion, but she had memorized these secret passageways perfectly.

‘I don’t know how she managed to remember not just one, but all these branching paths without forgetting a thing.’

These secret paths that “Elizabeth” used constantly for her rebellious escapades—

Because I had possessed her body, I ended up benefiting greatly from them.

“If we leave right now, the servants will notice if we walk out the main gate.”

“I know.”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to use me as a teleportation device…?”

Ruth crossed his arms into an X over his chest as if shielding himself. Ridiculous.

“Of course not.”

Ruth’s magic was valuable both for detecting food and for combat, so wasting his mana would be foolish.

“Then how do you plan to leave?”

“There’s a way.”

Let’s see… it should be around here.

In response to Michael’s question, I located a black book on the shelf.

‘Bingo!’

When I pulled the book, a rumbling sound echoed, and a hidden door in the wall revealed itself.

A tall adult man could pass through easily—an elongated door.

It was a secret passage created when the founder of House Keaton had this mansion built, commissioned from a famous mage.

Ruth’s mouth fell open as he stared at the old, no-longer-active spell formation carved above the passage.

“There’s an extremely complex high-ranking formula embedded here. Just the number of arrays needed to construct this… This is the kind of magical formation only a Tower Master–level mage could carefully design.”

While Ruth admired and examined the magic circle above the passage, Michael asked me:

“Where does this secret passage exit lead?”

“To Duo-2 District.”

The administrative zones where nobles lived were collectively known as Duo Street.

But not all nobles were the same sort of nobles.

Nobles could be divided into three large groups:

First, the high-ranking, highly influential nobles—like large conglomerates.

Second, nobles with the rank of marquis or count, central nobles rooted in the capital for generations—the mid-sized companies of Seoul, so to speak.

And lastly, third—nobles ranked from baron to count, who didn’t have residences in the capital but were powerful local clans from the provinces.

Birds of a feather flock together. Based on this, the First Emperor Caladia had divided the Duo Street noble district into three zones.

The most powerful families with the greatest influence lived in the most expansive Duo-1 District.

Next, the central nobles, who had lower individual influence but higher population density, settled in the relatively cramped Duo-2 District. Townhouses of the provincial nobles occupied the smallest Duo-3 District.

The Keaton Duchy and the Daemon Duchy were located in Duo-1, while the Celeste Marquess’ household and the Rutri Count’s household were positioned in Duo-2.

‘Meaning this secret passage is ridiculously long.’

The exit of this Keaton-passage—located near the north—lay all the way at the far south end of Duo-2, inside a building owned by House Keaton.

Thankfully, the secret exit was located right in the middle of House Daemon, House Celeste, and House Rutri.

‘The real Elizabeth used this passage constantly to sneak out whenever she was grounded.’

This was my first time using it, but I had zero fear of getting lost. With Zero beside me, it was essentially like having a navigation system on.

“This secret passage is passed down only to direct heirs of House Keaton, so we can go outside and return without encountering zombies.”

The founding duke had poured both rare materials and high-ranking magic arrays into its construction, so there was no danger of collapse.

It was absolutely perfect for the current zombie catastrophe!

I retrieved a backpack I had hidden deep within the office. It was leather, new, sturdy, impossible to tear.

From inside, I took out three magic lanterns and handed one to Michael and one to Ruth.

“Alright, let’s go. I already stashed away chocolate bars, biscuits, drinking water—everything we need.”

‘It was hard hiding it all from Lina.’

Michael and Ruth were speechless for a moment as they stared at the bulky pack.

“You are… extraordinarily well-prepared, Your Grace.”

“The situation demands it.”

“Still, shouldn’t you at least give us time to pack our own things…?”

To Ruth’s grumbling, I quickly replied:

“Do you know what Sir Michael and Mr. Ruth have in common?”

“We have something in common?”

“That’s news to me.”

“You two are terrible at lying. And if either of you tried packing your own bags, the servants would notice within minutes.”

‘You two stand out way too much.’

I had Zero’s help to sneak around and gather supplies, but these two? No chance.

“…….”

“…….”

Both men fell silent, unable to argue.

“Come on, let’s go already. Hurry!”

“……Give us the pack.”

“It’s heavy.”

Impressively, Michael and Ruth lifted the overstuffed pack like it was a handbag.

I was just glad I didn’t have to carry it anymore.

“Great, let’s get moving!”