Chapter 06
My face flushed red with embarrassment.
“Could you put me down?”
“No. If you roll around again in this condition and die, that would be troublesome. Just stay put and guide the way.”
“Hey, isn’t this tiring for you?”
There was no response, but I could tell.
Alex’s originally strong physique seemed even more reinforced.
He carried me like a pillow, showing no signs of strain, and his pace was quick.
Barely any shaking, incredibly stable.
We returned to the cabin with zombies’ corpses scattered around.
It seemed the kids had been in a fierce battle with a zombie horde.
When we knocked, Liam opened the door after seeing our figures.
“…Christine? Alex? You’re safe.”
“Alex!”
The cheerleading squad captain, Selena, who had slammed the door shut on us earlier, now ran over to him.
As expected, Alex looked at her as if she were a strange creature.
Regardless, Selena examined Alex’s body here and there.
“Are you okay?”
At a glance, her concern was more than just friendship.
I was in a more terrible and injured state, but I was completely ignored.
No, not ignored. She was giving me sideways glances.
Is she wary because I was alone with the man she likes?
Anyway, there’s no one here who would like Christine.
I should just stop caring and find a place to sit.
I hobbled to an empty spot and sat down, scanning the room.
The cabin’s interior was interconnected spaces of irregular sizes, feeling cramped yet somehow spacious.
For kids, it might have felt like a secret hideout from a fairytale, but for me, it just meant too many hiding places. Perfect for a killer like Jack to roam around freely.
Anyway, I happened to sit next to Bella. She’s the original main character who seems to be least wary of me.
Feeling a gaze, I glanced sideways and found her looking at me with curious eyes.
“You should keep some distance from her, Christine Hilton.”
The low voice belonged to Liam Curtis.
He stood, blocking the space between me and Bella.
Now that I look, Bella and Liam have similar hair and eye colors. They look just like siblings.
Bella looked at him cautiously.
“She went through a lot. Isn’t that a bit harsh….?”
“How do we know she isn’t infected by the zombies?”
“I wasn’t bitten?”
“Infection doesn’t just happen through biting, but through close exposure?”
Ah, the student council president, making even his paranoia sound logical.
I could see his point, but it still annoyed me. My gaze toward Liam turned sharp and unpleasant.
He seemed a little tense under my stare.
Because the other person is the infamous madwoman, Christine Hilton.
“Haah.”
But all that came out of me was a slow sigh, leaving both Liam and the kids watching us with wide eyes.
Why? Did you expect me to throw a tantrum like Christine would and attack you?
I stood up from my seat.
The events of today were too numerous to argue about, and I was exhausted.
My leg was also extremely painful.
It had seemed better while walking, but after sitting for a while, my ankle started bothering me again.
As I limped, Liam’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Your leg…”
Alex explained instead.
“The ground collapsed due of the rain, and she got hurt.”
Liam looked at me again, slightly flustered. For a brief moment, I thought I saw a flicker of guilt in his green eyes.
Alex, as if indifferent, disclosed the facts and followed me.
He was the one who threw me a jacket when I was crouching on the ground, soaking wet, and sat down.
“If Master dies from hypothermia, that’d be a problem.”
After saying that, he furrowed his brow.
[When a summoned being is called by another name, it is automatically translated as ‘Master’.]
A warning message appeared in red.
Fortunately, it was a system message only visible and audible to me personally.
Alex kept testing something out.
“Master! Master!”
It sounded like he was trying to say my name repeatedly…
Ah, I shouldn’t laugh, but I have to hold it in.
Wait! This is no time to laugh!
The gazes around us became…. odd.
Selena, in particular, stared at Alex in shock.
“M-Master? Don’t tell me you two… are into some weird kind of role-play….”
It was clear the cheerleading captain’s head was filled with improper ideas.
Like me forcing Alex to kneel, tugging on a chain attached to a leather collar around his neck….
I panicked as an image straight out of a web novel cover flashed through my mind.
“Wait! No, it’s not like that, we’re not…!”
But the other person is Alex, famous for being a playboy.
I’ve witnessed him flirting with multiple people on the bus.
Now, after disappearing together for a while, he’s calling me by a strange title?
Even if Christine’s reputation is more “hack and slash” than “flirt and flutter,” clearing this misunderstanding doesn’t seem likely.
Damn it! My image is now officially beyond repair.
Haha! Let’s just laugh.
I’d rather laugh it off to remain a top-tier crazy person.
The kids, whose situation had momentarily settled, began discussing that they couldn’t stay in the cabin forever.
“…After resting a bit, should we go out and scout the camp area?”
“Good idea.”
To this, I added my own input.
“But in my opinion, unless we defeat the boss creature, no one will be able to leave the dungeon.”
“Stop talking nonsense, Christine Hilton!”
“Didn’t you all see the bus passing through a strange door earlier? That was probably the gate the system mentioned. In other words, this campground has now become a dungeon. It’ll be more realistic to just plan on hunting down the boss creature.”
Selena strongly opposed me again.
“Did you see those bats or zombies earlier? We went through hell just dealing with them. How are we supposed to take down a boss creature?”
Other members of the cheerleading squad nodded in agreement with her.
It seems forcing too much information all at once won’t work.
I shrugged casually.
“Fine. I won’t force anything. Just, whatever you do, avoid acting on your own. You never know what might come out and harm you.”
It was a warning, remembering that this location was originally a place where the serial killer Jack used to roam, even though it had become a dungeon due to the gate phenomenon.
“Oh, seriously, what’s with you bossing us around like you’re in charge?”
Selena stood up abruptly, clearly offended.
“Where are you going?”
“Do I need to report to you even when I’m going to the bathroom? Unbelievable!”
Despite her snappy tone, she subtly glanced at Anna and Jean, seemingly hesitant after my warning, and the three left together.
Watching them shuffle off together to the bathroom like kindergarteners was oddly cute.
At least the death flag seemed averted, so I felt relieved.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
The girls’ screams echoed through the cabin.
Damn it! Wasn’t the death flag avoided?
Everyone left behind dashed to where the cheerleading girls were, only to find them panicking outside the bathroom, stomping their feet and causing a commotion.
“What happened?”
“A, a—”
“A what?”
“A cockroach!”
The kids, who had rushed over in a frenzy, stared at them with bewildered expressions.
“Just a cockroach…?”
“It’s not just an ordinary cockroach!”
Could the cockroaches have transformed into monsters during the dungeon conversion?
“…It was this big.”
But what Anna held out was simply her own fist.
“Well, that’s definitely not a normal cockroach.”
Bella said earnestly, nodding as if validating the claim behind me.
Hey, you’re the original protagonist here. You defeated serial killer Jack and survived—why are you acting like this? If even you crumble, how am I supposed to feel secure about my odds of survival?
I let out an exasperated sigh, pushing past the cheerleading girls.
“Step aside.”
Summoning a dart, I hurled it at the rather oversized cockroach in the bathroom.
The cockroach met its end, pinned by the blade.
Predictably, the experience points were zero.
Utterly pathetic.
“Happy now?”
The cheerleading girls looked at me, stunned by my knife-throwing skills, their eyes briefly filled with admiration before they snapped out of it.
I wanted to facepalm.
I need to convince these kids to band together, hunt down the boss creature, and escape this dungeon. But at this rate, it feels utterly hopeless.
Close your eyes.
Pitch dark, right? That’s your future.
After the brief bathroom commotion, my stomach growled from barely eating anything.
Judging by the others’ appearances, they were in no better shape, looking like they’d been stranded for days despite it being just half a day.
Aha! A brilliant idea came to me.
I’ll bring them food, get them energized for a fight, and lower their guard. That way, persuading them will be easier.
After all, even dogs don’t bite the hand that feeds them. These pups won’t be any different.
“Since we’ll need strength to fight, I’ll go fetch some food.”
As soon as I stood up to leave, my summoned creature, Alex, automatically followed me.
“Hey, master. I told you that you can’t be separated from me.”
And there he goes again, spouting those weird lines that make Selena’s glare toward me burn hotter than ever.
Thank you for reading! ♡
Yy