Translator: Nox

Chapter 69

This isn’t for them; it’s for me.

“I have a feeling a friend named Conscience might blame me later. So I need to have something to say to them, don’t I?”

“Huh?”

Emmy stared at me with a look that clearly asked what kind of nonsense I was talking about.

“I’m saying a single act of mercy is necessary to maintain a minimum level of humanity.”

Knox and Eden nodded as if they understood. I added one more thing for Emmy’s benefit.

“And while I don’t think you’re lying, we don’t actually know for sure if those people really came here to steal the mansion. I have to be cautious too.”

Emmy was a girl I had met for the first time today. On top of that, she was incredibly defiant. I couldn’t truly know who to trust yet.

“That doesn’t mean I’m opening the mansion gates, though.”

I wasn’t willing to gamble just to clear my conscience.

I knew it myself. I was only half-heartedly kind.

“Sir Eden, could you help me find the right position?”

As I pulled the lever of the catapult back with all my might, Eden raised his binoculars and scanned the area around the mansion.

“They’re isolated and unable to move. At this rate, they’ll likely be wiped out.”

The ‘prey’ was making a racket right in front of them; would the monsters even notice the firewood I was throwing? Even if I launched bundles of fuel, the effect would only be temporary.

‘Still, I have to try something.’

At the very least, I should fling the bundles to make it difficult for the monsters to approach them. If they have any wits about them, they’ll run while the monsters are hesitating.

Just as I pulled the lever back to the limit and was about to let go—

“Wait, it looks like a fight has broken out among themselves.”

“Pardon?”

I returned the lever to its original position and looked in the direction Eden was pointing.

Excluding the three corpses thrown out as bait, there were seven survivors.

Among them, a handsome middle-aged man in a chef’s coat and a refined, elegant middle-aged woman were holding hands tightly, facing off against the rest of the group. What was going on?

“It’s a disaster out there.”

Knox rested his chin on the railing and shared his observation as he looked out. Emmy leaned beside him, mirroring his posture, and agreed.

“They would have lived if they’d just lowered themselves and asked for help from the start. Like I did,” Emmy muttered.

She was right. Because I was indecisively kind, I probably would have opened the gate if they had signaled their surrender and strongly emphasized they weren’t enemies from the beginning, just as Emmy had.

“Lady Cherry, fire when I give the signal.”

Following Eden’s instructions, I gripped the catapult and kept a close eye on the situation.

‘This really isn’t the time for them to be doing that, though.’

They were already surrounded by monsters. There seemed to be no way out.

---

Victor, the chef, tightly gripped the hand of Emma, the clothing shop owner. Jackson, the weapon shop owner, tried to persuade Victor in a soft, coaxing tone.

“Look, Victor, someone has to be sacrificed.”

Victor’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Sacrificed? That’s not a sacrifice, that’s murder.”

“Don’t be so prickly. The living have to stay alive. Emma is fragile anyway; she won’t last long.”

At Jackson’s continued words, the corners of Victor’s eyes sharpened with rage.

The villagers standing beside Jackson loudly agreed with his opinion, demanding that Victor hand Emma over.

Victor saw devils in their faces.

“You people are talking utter filth.”

He squeezed Emma’s hand tighter. Jackson stomped his foot impatiently.

“We don’t have time to bicker like this, Victor! We need to get into that haunted house immediately, even if we have to kill them to take the mansion!”

“We never intended to take the mansion through violence in the first place. We were going to ask the Lady of the House for help.”

“Ha! You can say that after seeing that? They’re looking down on us from the roof like they’re gods! They have no intention of helping us!”

Jackson spoke as if they were trying to take the house only because the Lady of the House hadn’t helped them. Victor let out a hollow laugh.

“You intended to get rid of the Lady and steal the mansion from the very beginning. Don’t act like this is a rational choice.”

Grrrrr—

Just then, the monsters began to swarm toward them. A hesitating Jackson threw one of the corpses toward them.

Crunch!

As she watched the monsters tear into the corpse, Emma, her face pale with terror, tugged at Victor’s hand.

“Victor, he’s right. I’m fragile and useless anyway.”

“Shut up with that nonsense! Why are you useless? I need you! My life is useless without you, so we might as well die together!”

At Victor’s shout, Emma looked at him with wide eyes.

It was the first time Victor had ever revealed his feelings to her like that.

Jackson, who had been watching the situation, glanced at the approaching monsters and said to Victor with a look of relief.

“Perfect. Since you feel that way, Victor, both of you can be bait for us—”

“You son of a…!”

Emma barely managed to hold Victor back as he lunged at Jackson.

In the midst of the chaos, she spotted the people on the roof of the mansion in the distance.

It was the Lady of the House, Cherry Sinclair.

Though she couldn’t see their expressions clearly, Emma knew the Lady and her party were watching the situation through binoculars.

Emma bit her lower lip hard and tugged Victor’s hand. While Victor looked at her with a puzzled face, she took a deep breath. Then, she screamed at Jackson with all her might.

“You are truly irredeemable trash!! You want to steal this house from Cherry Sinclair?! Keep that garbage to yourself!”

It was an incredibly awkward tone, as if she were performing in a play. But Emma didn’t care. It was more important that her words reached their intended destination.

Having screamed loud enough to reach the mansion roof, Emma stole a glance in that direction.

The people who had been watching silently began to exchange words among themselves.

She had drawn the monsters’ attention by making a loud noise, but there had been no other way.

With a frantic face, Emma kept stealing glances at the roof.

“Emma, are you okay?”

Victor, having dispatched one of the swarming monsters, approached her with a shocked face to check on her. Emma was someone who had never raised her voice in her entire life. Given the circumstances, Victor was deeply worried by her uncharacteristic behavior.

Kreeeee!

The monsters swarmed again. Cornered, Jackson threw the remaining two corpses into the midst of the beasts.

Thud! Crunch!

The corpses were mangled by the monsters, and the remains vanished instantly among the swarming creatures.

The first monster to turn its eyes toward the villagers was a creature with a long, snake-like body and three heads.

Victor stood protectively in front of Emma, gripping his kitchen knife. His heart was pounding excessively fast. Cold sweat poured down his temples.

Grind, grind. The three heads gnashed their teeth as they looked at the villagers. It almost looked as if they were licking their lips.

Emma clung to Victor’s arm, trembling with fear. Victor gritted his teeth.

The creature scanned the surroundings carefully, as if choosing which appetizer to devour first.

As everyone held their breath, the blood-curdling cries of the monsters and the gruesome sounds of them devouring the corpses in the distance filled the air.

“Sob. Ugh… P-please, save me…”

Suddenly, the innkeeper broke down in tears, trembling with terror.

At that moment, the eyes on the three heads snapped toward the innkeeper. The creature’s pupils dilated and then contracted sharply.

Then, the middle head opened its mouth wide.

Inside the jaw, which looked as if it were tearing open, rows of jagged teeth were packed in layers.

As a sickening stench wafted out, the creature swallowed the innkeeper in an instant. Even as he was being eaten, the innkeeper reached out toward Jackson.

“Gah—! S-save me! Gurgle. Save me, Jackson!”

Seeing this, Jackson backed away and spotted Emma. He immediately ran toward her and Victor, grabbing Emma’s arm. Following Jackson’s signal, the other villagers grabbed her hands as well.

“You piece of trash! Let go of her right now!”

Victor shouted, but Jackson didn’t give up. Emma burst into tears, clutching Victor’s hand tightly to avoid being dragged away.

“Damn it, who cares about being trash! We have to survive first!”

In the process, Jackson even pushed the vegetable shop owner, who was nearby, into the path of a lunging monster as bait.

“Agh! Damn you, Jackson! Save me! Save me!”

Their screams intertwined with the splattering of blood, creating a horrific scene. It was a vision of hell, a total pandemonium.