Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 78 - The Resurrection of a Certain Woman

‘That scared me…….’

The trembling voice I heard was clearly sincere.

Since when had such warm sunlight started growing in those empty red eyes?

Even the hand Aston lent me was so warm—like a hand warmer—that I almost wanted to keep holding it.

‘……What am I even thinking?’

“Hic.”

“Ah, it seems you’re out of hyperventilation now.”

「Really?」

“Yes. To be certain, Zero or a physician would need to examine you……. But the crisis has passed.”

「Phew. Thank you……. I’ll make sure to repay this favor someday.」

“That’s unnecessary. As long as Duke Keaton is safe, that’s enough.”

Aston gave a small bow and returned to his place.

“……Hic.”

Still holding my glass blankly, I watched Aston walk away.

Zero climbed onto my head, shoulder, and hand, fussing around me.

「What was that? Since when has this been happening? Have you been really sick? Or did the zombies stress you out so much that you got some kind of mental shock? Huh?」

“Z-Zero. Hic. I’m fine, so could you talk a little slower? Everyone’s already busy being drunk on the mood while making toasts.”

Thankfully, everyone was too busy chatting and enjoying the moment to pay much attention to me.

I didn’t want to ruin the cheerful atmosphere, and Aston had surprisingly shielded me carefully so my strange behavior wouldn’t be noticed.

「Still……. You looked like you were in a lot of pain. Shouldn’t you rest?」

“Excuse me? Who was it that pushed me to work by giving me quests in the first place? Which ruthless guardian angel was that?”

Using the earlier angel talk against him made Zero flush red.

「I-I am kind of like a guardian angel. Even if I’m just a trainee constellation and limited in what I can do……. Still, even if you came here because of an error, I now think we make a pretty good team. I think I’m lucky you became the one assigned to me.」

“Oh……?”

What’s this? He hasn’t even had a drink, yet he’s spilling everything he’s been keeping inside.

「We may have been tied together because of an error, but I like you, Possessor. Until the day you fix the twisted causality of this story and leave, I want to do my best for you.」

“You’re always teasing me and messing around……. I never dreamed you were thinking something like that.”

My hiccups stopped. As I sipped champagne and chewed on a sandwich, Zero came to my hand and hugged my finger tightly.

「Don’t get hurt, Possessor.」

“…….”

「If what just happened means your mind is becoming unstable and cracks are forming, that’s dangerous. If a soul from another world breaks once, it’s hard to piece it back together.」

Zero said that if my soul were shattered while fighting zombies, even if it had fallen here by mistake due to an error, there would be no way to save it.

「If I weren’t just a trainee god but the chief god of this empire—if I had Ardel’s power and position—I could fully support you……. But I can’t.」

The tiny hamster-shaped god lowered his head.

「So don’t get hurt. I’m sorry that’s all I can say.」

“……You know you really don’t suit being serious, right?”

「Ah, seriously! Don’t ruin the mood! I am being serious!」

Zero shouting made me burst out laughing.

In the noisy mansion hall filled with people drinking and eating, Zero’s worried voice stood out clearly, like it had been highlighted.

“It’s okay. I’m actually pretty tough. I was just thinking useless thoughts and something came loose in my head.”

「Then tighten that screw properly. Don’t make me worry.」

“Yes, yes.”

I pretended to twist an imaginary screw next to my head. Zero snorted and went back to stuffing his cheeks with food.

The people, pleasantly excited by the atmosphere, started chanting the Keaton family name again.

“Keaton! Keaton! Keaton!”

“For the future of the House of Keaton!”

“……Cheers.”

Quietly raising my glass, I prayed inside.

Please, let this crowded little peace not break.

The simple yet grand party lasted late into the night, and I went to bed early, using tiredness as an excuse.

In my dream, I had finished everything and was about to return to my original world without regret.

〈Are you really going?〉

But someone grabbed my wrist.

It was none other than me, wearing Elizabeth’s appearance.

〈Can’t you stay here?〉

You said the place you’re going back to is lonely because you’ll be alone.

Just as I was about to answer, I woke up.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Inside the lord’s castle of Linsted.

The bodies of the Warrey Count family, who had died kneeling as if praying to a god, had vanished without a trace—as if someone had cleared them all away.

A man who looked exactly like Kieran Warrey had cremated every corpse and placed the ashes into glass bottles.

He left one bottle in each spot where their bodies had been, holding a strange kind of memorial.

“I already used the most valuable souls as sacrifices, but they were my brother’s body and the people he loved, so at least I cremated them. I didn’t want to just leave them there to rot with insects.”

In the empty castle, the man spoke and laughed as if conversing with someone.

“I’m doing well, right? You said it yourself, Brother. When someone as smart as me makes a decision, it’s frighteningly close to the right answer.”

With no reply in the cold castle, he hummed a strange song.

“A river that flows backward cannot exist. Look at the salmon swept along by the current. The river flows in reverse. Who is the fish caught in the twisted current? I am hungry. I shall catch and eat the fish. Which plump fish will fill my hunger?”

As the song neared its end, a woman dragged her feet toward the office where he stood.

“Ah…… aaah…… ah…….”

“My, my. Have you already forgotten how to speak? It’s unpleasant when you only make crying sounds.”

The man’s expression twisted sharply. He looked completely different from when he had hummed gently or called for his brother Kieran.

“S-so…… sor……ry…….”

Though no longer in her horrific state, the woman still stuttered badly, unable to fully abandon her former zombie condition.

It was an error caused by forcing someone who had died and been grotesquely revived to resemble her living self again, but the man blamed everything on her.

“Get it together. If you were once human, act like one.”

“……Sor……ry…….”

“I’m tired of hearing the same word. Are you a parrot? You know what I intend to use you for. Are you stupid enough that you can’t even practice this much?”

“……I…… was…… wrong…….”

Her slow, awkward speech carried fear.

The man threw a cushion at her.

“At least you’re not crying. If you’d been more troublesome than this, I would’ve discarded you and tried again with someone else. Understood?”

“……Y-yes…….”

Like a creaking wooden doll, she moved stiffly.

She remembered nothing from when she had been human.

The only memory she had was that this ‘Father’ had mercifully granted her life again when she was a zombie. Because of him, she could move and speak.

“Th-thank…… you…… I will…… fix…… my pronunciation…… Father.”

“If you fail to understand your place, I’ll return you to that hideous monster form.”

“Y-yes…….”

Beneath her obedient form, a dark red magic circle with complex patterns glowed.

“Tch. It’s troublesome, but I’ll repair you until you regain your former appearance.”

“Ugh…… aaah……!”

Each time she received this “repair,” her whole body twisted and burned in pain. But because it was Father’s command, she endured it.

‘Because I must meet someone.’

Based on the information forcefully engraved into her once-dead, revived brain by the man she called Father, she tried to remember.

‘I must eliminate the humans who interfere with Father’s wish.’

She had been granted mercy in order to destroy the bond those humans had formed together.

She remembered nothing of her former self, but she endured the pain with the desire to fulfill her master’s wish.

“Guh…… ah…….”

When the burning pain subsided, the magic circle beneath her disappeared.

“How do you feel now?”

“……Much more comfortable.”

At the man’s question, she raised her head.

Bright blonde hair. Pale skin that strangely shone just like when she was alive. Delicate features. She looked completely like a living person.

Instead of the torn dress she once wore, she now wore a pure white dress the man had given her, looking like a beautiful young noblewoman.

Only her red eyes remained, impossible to hide their eerie glow.

“Hm……. It takes a lot of magical power to maintain the illusion. I’ll need to invest once or twice more to restore your eye color. Red eyes will make people suspicious.”

After all, you weren’t born with red eyes.

In the man’s gaze toward the woman were both awe at the “creation” he had made—and an inexplicable hatred.

“Practice looking human. If you ruin my plan, I won’t let you off.”

“……Yes. Father.”

She obeyed.

In her foggy mind, a command echoed.

Devote your life to the man with silver-blue hair and blue eyes.