Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 64 - Actually, I Am A Saint.

While I was secretly surprised, Michael beside me muttered with a shocked face.

“Does that mean Duke Keaton really was the true Saint?”

Glare.

‘W-What is with this guy?’

Seeing Michael glare at me with resentful eyes, an image overlapped in my mind—like a coldly treated empress—and I flinched.

“Then when I got caught up in the magic that moved you to the Keaton estate, I didn’t hear it wrong, did I?”

His sky-blue eyes were silently blaming me.

See? I didn’t hear wrong, and I didn’t see wrong either, right?

“Ugh…… I’m sorry, Sir. But back then, you were so stubborn that I thought telling you would just make things too complicated.”

“Even so, saying I was standing there daydreaming is a bit too careless of an excuse, isn’t it?”

“I’m just grateful that you kindly let that excuse slide, Sir Michael.”

“Hah…….”

Michael clearly realized that arguing with me was pointless.

With a sigh, he said to me,

“When that hamster is visible, I can also sense the divine power you possess.”

“Oh, really?”

Even though I was given the job title of Saint, the only time I had actually used my powers was when I uploaded necessary information while facing the zombies at the jewelry shop.

“Zero never told me you had a large amount of divine power, so I didn’t know.”

「I—I was going to tell you……. I just couldn’t find the right timing.」

“So you were planning to tell me after I died?”

「Don’t tease me! ……Fine, I admit it was my fault.」

As Zero and I bickered like friends, Michael simply watched us in silence, as if everything was one long series of shocks.

“……That hamster really is a god? The one who made you the Saint who appeared after 948 years?”

「That’s right, human.」

“Yes. Well…… Sir Michael, the strangest thing already happened when you met me at the Vatican, didn’t it?”

Michael immediately understood what I meant.

“The holy water from the sacred spring at the Vatican ran dry, and a mysterious pillar of light appeared.”

“That was all done by this hamster god. Ta-da.”

When I pointed at Zero with both hands, Michael looked even more confused.

“No matter how you look at it…… a god…… how can it look like a hamster?”

“What’s wrong with being small and cute? He’s not the main god—he can appear in a cute and tiny form if he wants.”

“……Ever since you changed, Duke, it’s hard to tell what you’re thinking anymore.”

Haha. I guess I am a hard person to understand.

Letting Michael’s comment slide, I gestured for the people who clearly had many questions to quiet down, then asked Zero,

“Zero. Bring up the search window.”

「Got it.」

Zero activated a search engine over a translucent blue status window.

“What’s that?”

Jacqueline’s eyes sparkled at the unfamiliar screen.

“It’s a search window……. With Zero’s help, I used it to gather the information I needed.”

“Can’t you identify the culprit right away with that?”

“Unfortunately, that was impossible. I don’t know what kind of dark mage the culprit is, but they made it so Zero’s search window can’t dig up detailed information about zombies.”

「The culprit is interfering, basically.」

At Zero’s short explanation, everyone nodded.

“Then…… the culprit might be someone with greater power than we thought.”

Aston said gravely, resting his chin on his hand.

“We know nothing about this sorcerer. And even that hamster who named you a Saint and supports you can’t get information about the culprit. Do we really stand a chance if we fight them?”

‘That’s what I want to know too…….’

“We won’t know until we fight.”

“……Hmm.”

Though he made a thoughtful sound, Aston’s expression wasn’t bad.

“You’re better than those who run away with their tails between their legs before even trying. I’ll trust you, Duke.”

Following Aston, as if passing a baton, Ruth, Benedict, and Michael spoke one after another.

“I’ll support whatever Duke Keaton decides to do. In this situation, I don’t think there’s anyone more capable of dealing with zombies quickly and calmly.”

“Same here. This is the first time the spirits have tried to lend their power to someone other than me, their contractor. That must mean the god in that hamster form is trustworthy.”

“……I must believe as well. I can clearly sense immense divine power, and if I, a devoted servant of the gods, don’t believe, that would be betraying my faith.”

As those capable of fighting trusted and supported me, the others followed along.

Sherry and Cloud, Nadia, and even the Marquis Celeste family.

“It’s hard to believe…… but the Duke trusted us enough to reveal her identity as a Saint, and even showed us the small god protecting her. So we’ll believe.”

“Well, with monsters roaming outside trying to eat people, maybe worrying about common sense is already strange.”

“Still, having a Saint protected by a god on our side feels pretty reassuring, doesn’t it?”

This wasn’t a bad reaction at all.

‘Thank goodness they didn’t treat me like a crazy person…….’

It was a gamble, but in the end, it worked out well.

I lifted Zero, who was smiling blankly as he watched everyone chatter, onto my palm.

“Zero, look. People believe in your existence, and it seems like they’ve more or less accepted that I’m a Saint too, right?”

When I smiled, Zero squirmed in my hand with a deflating sound.

「Yeah, that’s pretty impressive.」

‘So sarcastic…….’

「Anyway, what are you going to do now?」

At the little hamster god’s words, everyone perked up their ears, waiting for my answer.

Being the center of attention made my stomach churn a little.

We had narrowed the culprit down to a sorcerer, but beyond that, we knew nothing. It seemed we’d have to figure things out the hard way.

Folding my fingers one by one, I slowly listed what needed to be done.

“We need to set up a barrier so zombies can’t leave the capital beyond the walls. We also need to start reclaiming parts of the city little by little. Most importantly, we have to inform the outside world. We need to spread the word that zombies have appeared and find people willing to fight with us.”

As I explained the tasks, Michael couldn’t hold back and tried to leave the drawing room.

“I’ll go grab those wretched temple people immediately.”

I stopped him.

“Whoa, whoa. Sir Michael, calm down. I think the temple people are annoying too, but they probably left a long time ago. Rather than chasing them blindly, isn’t it more reasonable to deal with what we can do right now?”

“……You’re right.”

“So let’s start with what matters most.”

When I grinned, Aston asked,

“What is the most important thing, Duke?”

“That would be…….”

Trailing off, I pulled something out of my inventory.

It was the ‘Jar Blessed by Anais’ that I had received as a quest reward.

“……?”

People looked confused at the appearance of the ugly, oversized jar.

“What are you planning to do with that?”

When Ruth asked, I answered by putting a slice of bread into the jar.

“Watch closely.”

After shaking the jar a few times, the single slice of bread inside became two.

“My goodness…….”

Jacqueline covered her mouth in shock.

“This jar is a cornucopia. It doubles the food you put into it.”

“Where did you get something so precious……?”

To Cloud’s question, I answered honestly.

“It’s a reward the hamster god watching over me gave me in exchange for supplying food to the Keaton estate.”

“Ooooh…….”

Eyes filled with genuine admiration turned toward Zero.

‘Haha. It’s not like he gave it for free—he asked me to grab him some snacks while pushing through zombies.’

Still, as a small but divine being who allowed me to use mysterious powers, even if imperfectly, Zero seemed to have won people’s hearts.

“May we call you Lord Zero?”

“Shouldn’t we offer tribute? He’s helping Duke Kitten and protecting us—this much seems right.”

“Do you like sweets? Ah, since you have a hamster’s body, would sweets upset your stomach?”

Murmur, murmur. Buzz, buzz.

「Ugh…… hey…… d-don’t pay so much attention to me! Ask everything through Elizabeth, the Saint I chose!」

Dizzy from the overwhelming attention, Zero slipped out of my palm and hid behind my back.

At this rate, it was hard to tell who was protecting whom.

I chuckled, placed Zero back on my shoulder, and said while showing the cornucopia,

“First, let’s fill our stomachs. We’ll also hold a small party to welcome those who survived.”

A party?!

You could practically hear the survivors swallowing as their mouths watered after so much tension.

“Let’s eat something good and think about what to do next.”

“……Sounds good!”

 

 

****

 

 

 

When Michael, Ruth, and I tirelessly put all the gathered food into the cornucopia and took it back out, we ended up with an incredibly well-stocked food storage.

“Thank you, Duke! And Sir Michael, and the mage as well!”

“And Lord Zero too! Thanks to you, we won’t starve. Thank you.”

「Oh, it’s really nothing……。」

Even prickly Zero became a well-behaved hamster in the face of praise.

「Hm, hmhm. You can repay me by making delicious snacks.」

“Oh my, of course! I’ll make plenty of sweet treats for you.”

「A kind human. I’ll remember you!」

The worried expressions of the kitchen staff, who had been anxious as supplies ran low, finally relaxed.

“And with servants from other houses who used to work in kitchens joining us, preparing meals for the increased number of people shouldn’t be too difficult.”

The head chef excitedly boasted that he would show off his skills.

Sure enough, dinner featured a splendid spread: roast turkey and pumpkin soup, sandwiches generously stuffed with thin ham, eggs, cheese, and lettuce, and even rich, savory pasta with a spicy kick.