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Chapter 56
<Main Quest: “A New Journey” has been completed. Rewards are granted to Aidrien Logiton for safely arriving in the capital.>
<Congratulations! Due to completing the Main Quest and a Hidden Quest, Aidrien Logiton’s level has increased significantly!
All skill levels have increased by 3 stages.
The range of land that can be declared as farmland has expanded.
The influence of the skill “Land Claim” has been enhanced.>
“Leveling up is nice and all, but…”
Nana narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the system window.
‘I killed that many zombies and only got +3 skill levels? Isn’t that ridiculously low?’
Over the past five days, she had killed so many zombies that she had practically grown attached to them. Toward the end, she even caught herself thinking, “Huh? Didn’t I see this one yesterday?” just by looking at their faces.
“No matter how I look at it, the cost-performance ratio for experience is terrible.”
Grumbling, Nana flicked the system window shut.
Still, she was satisfied that she had at least received a reward just for reaching the capital.
But after enduring five days without sleep thanks to her trait, she felt like she deserved at least a new skill.
At the very least, logically—and emotionally—it made sense.
In the novels she had read, reincarnated protagonists always got ridiculously overpowered abilities. So why was her system so stingy?
Yawning as she complained, Nana blinked at the scene before her the moment she stepped off the train.
“Huh? What is this?”
Several well-built adult men were sprawled across the platform floor. The only ones still standing were Ishanka and a boy she had never seen before.
‘There was no one here when we arrived…?’
Nana immediately turned to Ishanka.
“What happened here?”
Ishanka calmly approached and gave a brief explanation.
“…So, let me get this straight—you knocked them out because they were making noise and might wake me up?”
Nana blinked in disbelief.
She appreciated the thoughtfulness of letting her sleep peacefully on the train, but beating people unconscious for that reason felt absurd.
Still, thinking about it more carefully…
‘They might be bad people.’
In a zombie apocalypse, strangers were dangerous.
With laws and systems broken, those wearing human skin but acting like beasts thrived. Compassion often became the first weakness.
Of course, there was a chance these men were just unfortunate survivors.
But if she hesitated every time, she’d be the one who died first.
More importantly—
Ishanka wasn’t someone who would hurt innocent people without reason.
She had realized that during their time together.
He wasn’t someone who used violence carelessly.
Which meant…
‘They must’ve done something wrong.’
Looking at him with trust, Nana said,
“Thanks, Isha.”
Ishanka’s face flushed slightly, and he gave a gentle smile.
Watching this, the boy thought:
What is this? Why are they suddenly in their own little world?
He stared at them with a completely unimpressed expression.
After a moment, Nana turned toward him.
“By the way, who are you?”
Startled by her sudden attention, the boy’s face turned red.
“M-my name is Damian. I was running away from those people over there. And I have a request—”
Before he could finish—
“Ugh…”
A low groan echoed.
One of the unconscious men began to stir.
At that moment—
Thud.
Ishanka silently kicked the man in the head, knocking him out again.
“Wait, what? These guys were child kidnappers? That’s seriously messed up.”
“If we leave them like this, they’ll come after him again. We should find rope and tie them up.”
“No need for that.”
Nana strode over to one of the unconscious men—
—and suddenly pulled off his pants.
Without the slightest hesitation or embarrassment.
“…”
“…”
“…?”
Everyone froze in stunned silence.
The first to snap out of it was Damian.
“Aaaah! What are you doing?! That’s indecent!”
“What? It’s to prevent pursuit. If we leave them like this, they might chase you again after waking up.”
“We could just tie them up!”
“This is faster than wasting time looking for rope.”
It made no logical sense—
Yet somehow, it was oddly convincing.
Damian was confused.
In his entire life, he had never seen someone so confidently strip another person’s pants.
Holding the pants in her hand, Nana muttered,
“If they still try to chase us after this… well, then I’ll just crush them.”
I don’t even want to ask what she means by ‘crush’…
Damian smiled awkwardly and squeezed his eyes shut.
“We should toss these into a boiler and burn them on the way. And then we leave.”
They had only stopped at the station to rest briefly.
But now that they knew people like these could show up, staying longer wasn’t a good idea.
Besides, they had originally planned to leave once they recovered anyway.
Just as Nana and Ishanka were about to head back to the train to wake Sam and the others, Damian called out to them.
“Um… where are you going next?”
Nana paused and answered,
“The royal palace.”
She hadn’t come to the capital just for the quest.
She also wanted to deliver Sam—and find the blueprint of Sweet Little Village, supposedly stored somewhere in the palace.
But then Damian hesitated before adding,
“If I were you… I’d never go near the palace.”
“Why?”
“There are ‘Administrators’ all over that area.”
He glanced at the unconscious men.
“People like them.”
They kidnapped normal people and forced them to work on “farms.”
He didn’t say the last part out loud.
Nana frowned.
The palace being a dangerous zone…
That was unexpected.
She scratched her head with a sigh.
‘What do I do? I have to get inside to find the blueprint, but even getting close sounds difficult…’
Her head already started to ache.
“Um… if you don’t have anywhere specific to go…”
Damian spoke hesitantly.
Nana and Ishanka both turned to him at the same time.
His face instantly turned red.
But he couldn’t let them go like this.
If he wanted to return home safely, he needed someone like this man—someone strong enough to defeat those “Administrators” instantly.
Gathering his courage, Damian said,
“Would you… like to come to my house?”
A little later
Damian led them to the outskirts of the capital—far beyond the outskirts.
The atmosphere was completely different from the city center.
The central area was gloomy, but at least the buildings still stood.
Out here, almost everything had collapsed.
Finding an intact building was harder than finding ruins.
Damian’s “house” was a small cave hidden inside a collapsed warehouse.
After passing through a narrow, winding passage, they arrived at several small chambers.
One of them was for the group.
“You can stay here.”
When he opened the door, the space inside was larger than expected.
There was enough room for everyone to lie down comfortably.
An old carpet covered the floor—but it was surprisingly soft.
“…It may not look like much, but it’s cozy. And this is the best room.”
Seeing Sam’s unimpressed expression, Damian flushed red and quickly added that—then hurried out.
Sam plopped down and grumbled,
“Tch. Why do I have to stay in a place like this instead of my palace? I could be sleeping in a soft bed in a huge room…”
Nana replied coldly,
“Then go to the palace alone. If you can.”
Sam knew she was right.
Going there now was basically announcing:
‘Hey, I’m here. Come capture me.’
That’s why he had followed them here in disguise.
Still—
‘That doesn’t mean I can just let him whine.’
Before Sam could start complaining again—
Wina casually said,
“Are you stupid? In a world like this, having a roof over your head is already something to be grateful for. Kids these days always think about comfort first.”
Nana thought:
Wina… why do you sound like someone on their second life?
Sam blinked in shock.
Meanwhile, Brody tilted his head.
“That’s strange… When I left the palace, everything was fine.”
Lucas nodded.
“Something must have happened in your absence, my lord. I’ll scout the area tomorrow.”
Nana immediately raised her hand.
“If it’s okay, can I come too?”
Brody looked surprised.
“Nana, are you sure? That area is dangerous—even with Lucas, you could be at risk.”
Then Ishanka quietly raised his hand.
“I will go as well.”
Brody didn’t object further.
‘If it’s this man… it should be fine.’
He had likely already seen what Ishanka was capable of.
Meanwhile, Nana sighed internally.
Ah… I really don’t want to go. Why is my life so exhausting?
But she had no choice.
She had a reason she absolutely had to go.
A damn Main Quest had appeared.
