Chapter 59
I crossed my arms, responding with an attitude that showed I wouldn’t back down easily.
“Then shouldn’t you open up your information first, Mr. Rudfercher? Depending on the quality and quantity of the information you share, I’ll provide something equivalent. In times like these, the person with the most information usually holds the upper hand.”
Knox looked surprised at my reply, as if it was something he hadn’t expected. Soon, he burst into laughter, looking like I’d landed a solid point.
“Ah, as expected, Miss Cherry, you truly can’t be taken lightly.”
It would be a problem if someone still took me lightly after seeing my super strength.
By the way, does Eden know about this too?
At the very least, Knox and I each held different pieces of information about this ruined world and were hiding them from each other.
“You know about the Westmore Urban Legend case, don’t you?”
“……No? What is that? What urban legend?”
“It caused quite a stir in the media last year. Don’t you know? Don’t you read the newspaper often, Miss Cherry?”
The reason I had been reading the newspaper frequently since coming down to Brunel was to check for news about the apocalypse. Before that—
“I wasn’t interested unless my name was in the paper.”
Knox sighed and kindly explained the Westmore Urban Legend case to me.
“Last year, there was a report from a mansion in Westmore that people’s screams and the cries of beasts were heard every night. However, even though the police searched the scene thoroughly, they found nothing. Yet, even after that, people passing near the mansion at night reportedly still heard those sounds. In the end, with no witnesses and no evidence, it just remained an urban legend.”
Since there was no physical evidence, it made sense that it became a legend. But it was certainly a very suspicious story.
“Could those beastly sounds have been these damn monsters?”
“Who knows. Anyway, the reason I’m telling you this is because a large amount of Elpinus herbs were found in that mansion, which was the main stage of the legend.”
To think Elpinus herbs were found in Westmore as well. Was there anything like this in the novel? Surely, in <Faded Love>, there was only mention of Notium Street No. 61.
“There were Elpinus herbs at Notium Street No. 61 as well. Both mansions are connected to monsters. So, we can’t say the monsters and the Elpinus herbs are unrelated.”
Come to think of it, I had thought that was strange too. The reason why Elpinus herbs were at the house on Notium Street No. 61 was never revealed in the original work.
“Perhaps this damn infectious virus is somehow linked to this herb.”
“I’m thinking the same thing. Were there any unusual details about the house at Notium Street No. 61? You’re the only witness who was inside when the incident occurred, Miss Cherry.”
“I didn’t have time for that. As soon as I went in, that monster lunged out.”
I thought the Elpinus herb was just a simple vaccine, but could it be linked to the secrets of the virus as well?
I sighed and clutched my head. Maybe because I’d focused so hard on the conversation with Knox, my head felt like it was burning. My forehead was scorching.
In any case, I told Knox about the man I saw that day.
“I’m not the only witness. There was another man.”
“Ah. If you mean the man who fled the mansion that day, I investigated him separately, but his whereabouts are unknown.”
“I think he said he was the brother of the tenant at Notium Street No. 61. He said he came to the mansion because he hadn’t been able to contact his sister for a few days and thought something might be wrong.”
“O-Oh, no. When I came to this house, that monster was tied up in the room. My sister hadn’t been in touch for days, so I came to check, and then this monster…….”
The man had definitely said that.
“I wish I could search the mansions in Notium and Westmore again.”
At my murmur, Knox nodded in agreement.
“Indeed.”
But both Knox and I knew.
With the world in this state, we were in a rural village far from the capital. There was no way we could investigate such things.
A heavy silence fell for a moment. Glancing up at the sky, Knox stood up and reached out a hand to me.
“Shall we go down now?”
I nodded and took his hand.
As I tried to pull myself up, I felt a sudden wave of dizziness again. My body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton. It felt as if someone was pulling me down from beneath my feet.
“Miss Cherry?”
My body tilted to the side. My face felt like it was on fire.
“Miss Cherry! Are you alright?”
Knox caught me with a panicked expression. That was the last thing I knew before I lost consciousness.
* * *
Eden sat in the chair beside Cherry’s bed, quietly watching her as she slept. On the chair on the opposite side of the bed, Knox sat checking Cherry’s condition.
“It seems to be a simple case of fatigue. It’s from overwork. It doesn’t look like she’s been resting properly.”
“Overwork……”
Cherry was burning with fever. Even in her sleep, her brow was furrowed and she groaned as if she were having a nightmare.
Watching Cherry’s sleeping face, Eden clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“When you look at her, she really doesn’t take care of herself. She’s too overconfident in her super strength.”
Knox agreed with Eden to some extent.
Cherry was resilient. Ever since they first met her, she had never been otherwise until now.
“It seems fatigue has built up. And then it looks like all the tension was released at once.”
Knox placed his hand on Cherry’s forehead again to check her temperature. He wrung out a towel from a basin of water he had brought himself and placed it on Cherry’s forehead.
“For now, it’s best to let her rest.”
Both Eden and Knox looked at Cherry with worried faces before slowly standing up.
* * *
Eden had intended to leave Happy House today.
If Cherry hadn’t suddenly collapsed like that, he would have.
He sat quietly on the bed in his room, staring at the bag he had placed on the desk.
It was an item that had been sitting on the desk for several days. Both the bag and the daily necessities inside were things Cherry had prepared for him.
“This is a bribe.”
Eden recalled the words Cherry said as she handed him the bag.
“Since there will be more survivors in the capital than here. Who knows, you might meet someone who can develop a cure. When that happens, you mustn’t forget me and this Happy House.”
To be honest, he hadn’t seen any survivors even in this small village, so he wondered if there would be any in the capital. Besides, developing a cure…… it sounded like a dream.
Eden stood up. The sun had already set, but he hadn’t been able to leave, and Cherry hadn’t woken up.
Except for when he was checking on Cherry, Knox stayed holed up in his room and didn’t come out. Eden slowly stepped out into the hallway and headed toward Cherry’s room.
Cherry was still asleep. So quietly, as if she would never wake up.
As he brushed away the hair damp with sweat and clinging to her cheek, Eden slowly tapped her cheek with a long finger. He felt the soft texture of her cheek. It was quite cute, still plump as if she hadn’t lost her baby fat.
Eden sat quietly in the chair next to the bed, watching the sleeping Cherry. Cherry, who had been sleeping peacefully, began to groan in pain again. Then her hands trembled slightly. She even fumbled around as if searching for something.
Without realizing it, he took Cherry’s hand. Only then did her rustling movements stop. She finally looked peaceful, as if she had found stability.
Her red lips parted slightly. Between her small, flickering lips, a voice flowed out and slowly faded away. Eden leaned in to listen.
“……Don’t.”
The voice was barely audible. She murmured the same thing over and over. After listening for a long time, Eden was finally able to understand what she was saying.
“……Don’t…… leave…… me…… behind.”
Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes.
Eden was a bit flustered. Seeing Cherry in such a vulnerable state was something even he hadn’t expected.
“I’m talking about her state of mind. Isn’t she still a young lady? In a situation like this, no one can be in their right mind.”
“You said you were worried because she’s a young lady, but now you’re backing off? Honestly, I’m worried about Miss Cherry too. She might just be acting like she’s fine.”
It seemed that wasn’t the case. Just as feared, perhaps she had been pretending to be fine. Or if not that, she might not actually be fine but wasn’t even aware of it herself…….
Tears continued to flow from the corners of Cherry’s eyes. Eden wiped her tears away with his finger. He repeated the motion over and over until the tears dried.
Even Eden didn’t know why he was bothering to do that instead of just leaving her alone. He just wanted to.
He kept wiping away her tears until Knox returned to check on Cherry’s condition again.
