Chapter 107
“What gives? Isn’t the role I’ve been assigned much harder?”
“You said it yourself, Miss Cherry. Our combat positions are clear. You can do it.”
When I looked at him skeptically, he let out a short laugh, tilted his head slightly, and asked me, “Why? Is it yourself you don’t trust, Miss Cherry? Then just trust me completely. I’ll save you. No matter what it takes.”
Eden had patted my head briefly as he said that.
I might have been under his spell at that moment—convinced that as long as I trusted him, I’d somehow pull it off.
In the end, I caught the King instead of the Queen, but given the situation here, they’re practically the same thing, so let’s skip the details.
Anyway, back then, Eden had also proposed a way to deal with the small fry all at once.
“Miss Cherry, have you ever heard the saying that there’s no gain without adventure?”
“My father used to say something similar when he was doing business. High risk, high return.”
“Good. Then this will be easy to understand. To deal with the small fry, we have to take a certain amount of risk.”
“What kind of risk?”
“Making a loud noise.”
“Like what?”
“Blowing a whistle or something like that. People will panic, thinking the noise will attract monsters, and they’ll try to find the source. Once the enemies are gathered in one place, they’re much easier to take out all at once.”
It was actually a method we had used at the clock tower during the occupation of Brunel.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a fight between a few and many.”
“It’s not hard to deal with them once they’re gathered. The goal is to reduce the risk of an ambush; the enemy’s numbers don’t really matter to me in the first place.”
“……But blowing a whistle won’t just attract the attention of people, will it?”
“I told you.”
“No gain without adventure?”
“Exactly. So don’t be startled by the sound of the whistle. It’s the sound of me coming to get you.”
A sound proving that Eden was coming for me.
The words tickled my heart strangely, but now was not the time to worry about such things.
Anyway, I didn’t expect Eden to drag all those small fry right to where I was, but it created a more dramatic effect.
It was lucky that Eden, being a police officer, happened to have a whistle. In truth, this was a one-time trick that couldn’t be used again once the method was exposed, but it was enough to catch the camp members off guard and subdue them in one go. Just like now.
“We finally meet.”
Eden, approaching me, was covered in blood, just like Elliot. The difference was that Elliot’s was his own, while Eden’s belonged to others.
Philip and Valen were trembling with fear, looking as if they were about to faint. I didn’t understand why they were so terrified when Eden hadn’t even laid a hand on them yet.
“What is a high-ranking noble like you doing here?”
Elliot snarled at Eden. Having cast aside his police uniform jacket, Eden rolled up his shirt sleeves and looked down at Elliot with disdain. After scanning Elliot’s wretched state, he asked me, “Who’s this?”
“This is Elliot Ready Vernonham.”
I introduced Elliot calmly, and as soon as I finished, Eden’s boot pressed down on Elliot’s shoulder.
“Ugh.”
Bound to the chair, Elliot furrowed his brow. Eden leaned down toward him slowly, a crazed look in his eyes as he smiled.
“Ah, so you’re that psycho piece of trash. The bastard who said such harsh things to our Miss Cherry.”
“……What?”
Elliot missed his chance to snap back and just stared at Eden. Of course, his eyes were still sharp as he glared intensely.
They were of a similar mold, but the contrast between the blonde and the black hair made them feel quite distinct.
Eden grabbed Elliot by the chin and whispered a quiet curse.
“Keep your eyes down, you son of a bitch. I have this condition where I can’t just walk past criminal scumbags.”
I couldn’t let that comment slide, so I chimed in.
“There’s no such condition.”
“There is. Just wait, Miss Cherry. I’m in the middle of an interrogation.”
I tried to keep my mouth shut but couldn’t resist adding one more thing.
“This bastard tried to kill me.”
“What?”
Eden whipped his head toward me. Then, with a fierce scowl, he looked back at Elliot.
Like an elementary schooler telling her dad about a bully, I pointed to Elliot’s gunshot wound.
“He ordered his subordinates to shoot me. He actually fired a gun at me.”
“Then why is the gunshot wound on him and not on you, Miss Cherry?”
“Because the Princess used me as a shield.”
Elliot replied, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the floor once more.
“Princess?”
Eden questioned the title. At that, Elliot gave a thin smile and looked at me. His gaze was suggestive. What is wrong with him? It’s creeping me out.
Elliot asked me, “Princess Sinclair. Did you find another partner while I wasn’t looking? I guess you’re no different from other women, huh? Only looking at a man’s status.”
Eden is the kind of man women would like just for his face, even without the status, but it seemed Elliot was blind to that fact.
“I am Miss Cherry’s partner. And I intend to be her last.”
It was Eden who answered. The content of his answer was a bit strange.
Whether he shared my thought or not, Elliot looked at Eden as if he were a madman.
“Sir Eden, can we block the entrance here?”
“Why, to make sure these bastards can’t get out?”
At Eden’s question, I glanced down over the railing. Monsters were swarming toward the hotel entrance.
“Yes. Let’s finish this quickly and go. The monsters are gathering at the entrance.”
“It’s possible with your strength, Miss Cherry. The hallway was narrow; how about moving several beds to block it?”
That was a good idea. If I did that, they wouldn’t be able to break out even if they tried.
I kicked the railing lightly.
Rattle—
The ladder descended.
Seeing that, Philip and Valen’s faces turned deathly pale. The monsters that had been rushing toward the hotel entrance heard the sound of the ladder and began to turn their heads toward us one by one.
Elliot gritted his teeth and glared at me. Not that I had any intention of letting him live.
“Let’s go now.”
Leaving Elliot on the balcony with Eden, I walked out of the room, passing the men groaning on the floor.
Then, I moved heavy beds to completely pack the narrow hallway and the front of the room so they couldn’t come out.
The reaction inside would probably be split in two: those trying to open the door, and those trying to fend off the monsters climbing up the balcony ladder.
They would never be able to get out, but if they had heavenly luck, it might be possible. I didn’t intend to stop even that.
By then, the situation would already be over anyway.
‘I hope they take out all the monsters around the hotel while they’re at it.’
Even if monsters climbed up to the fifth floor, as long as this door didn’t open, they wouldn’t be able to come down.
“Miss Cherry, are you really alright?”
Eden stood at the top of the stairs, checking my complexion.
Glancing at Eden’s uniform, I confirmed he was fine—aside from some blood splatters—and smiled as I headed down the stairs. He followed behind me.
“I’m fine. You saw. If you hadn’t come, Sir Eden, I might have ripped Elliot apart.”
“……I misspoke. Here we go again. Please stop ripping things.”
“I only said it; I’ve never actually ripped anyone apart.”
“I’m saying it because I feel like you really might one day.”
“Oh, come on, it’s a joke. What am I, a bear?”
“……Not a bear, no.”
“What was that pause before you answered?”
“Anyway, you’re the best, Miss Cherry. I figured you’d take the Queen’s head in a single stroke.”
“It was the King, not the Queen. And I didn’t take his head.”
“It’s a figure of speech.”
“Were you really not worried about me?”
At my question, Eden fell silent. I expected him to say of course he wasn’t worried, but unexpectedly, he remained quiet.
As we passed the fourth floor and headed down to the third, he finally answered.
“It was a sudden situation. No matter how great your strength is, Miss Cherry, how could I not worry?”
His voice, much calmer and more serious than usual, carried such obvious sincerity that I lost the will to continue the playful banter.
Of course, there was no time for long small talk anyway. I had heard that members of the camp stayed on the second and third floors, but there was no one on the third floor.
“It’s noisy downstairs.”
Eden said. As I descended the stairs with him, I thought of the monsters swarming the hotel entrance.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed someone had entered the hotel carrying Elpinus herbs. Either that, or they had gathered hearing Eden’s whistle.
Maybe it was both.
‘First, I have to deal with the monsters on the first floor.’
What better way to make sure these people never coveted Brunel again (even if it had been Elliot’s sole decision)?
The only way was for me to take over the Sinclair Hotel.
To do that, while the absolute ruler was absent, I had to display overwhelming skill and win the trust of the remaining camp members.
I had been dragged here out of the blue, and now it looked like I was going to end up conquering the Kintne Survival Camp. I really have to thank Elliot. For letting his guard down.
