🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter ~ 04
‘…There are fewer people here than I expected.’
I had assumed that, like how Isis brought me here, every survivor she found was brought to this place.
But judging by the small number of people, that clearly wasn’t the case.
“This is the dining hall. From now on, all meals will be taken here together.”
“Yes.”
“Larianah’s seat is over there.”
When Marsha pointed, I saw that my assigned seat was right next to Isis — the seat of honor.
‘Is it because it’s my first day here…?’
As I cautiously approached and sat down, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.
Isis introduced me.
“This is Larianah Belote, our newest member.”
“Hello. Please just call me Larianah.”
When I lifted my head after greeting them, several pairs of eyes met mine.
…How uncomfortable.
A brief silence passed before a cheerful, youthful voice asked a question.
“Unnie, what’s your skill?”
The girl asking looked quite young — not even ten, maybe.
Her twin braids made her look so adorable that I couldn’t help but smile.
“My skills are ‘Super Strength’ and ‘Healing.’”
“Wow, you have two skills?”
“Yeah.”
We were chatting pleasantly when — bang! — a loud noise erupted beside us.
It was so similar to the sound I’d heard back in the mansion when I first woke up that my whole body froze.
Thankfully, this time it wasn’t a creature — it was a human.
“Healing… did you say Healing?!”
“Uh… yes…”
The man who stood up clenched his fists and trembled. Then he shouted,
“At last—a healer!”
“Luka.”
“Isis, we finally found a healer!”
“Luka, calm down and sit.”
After soothing the man, Isis turned to me with a serious expression.
“You truly have a Healing skill?”
“Yes…”
When I answered, Isis’s face lit up brightly.
At the same time, cheers broke out around us.
A pop sound echoed as a status window appeared.
[‘Isis Clentain’s’ favorability has increased by 3!]
[Current favorability: 6/100]
‘So… they needed a healer?’
It made sense — in a world overrun by monsters, doctors or healers would be invaluable.
But seeing how overjoyed they were left me unsure how to respond.
“Um… I can’t heal major wounds yet. Only small ones. I haven’t really practiced much…”
“It’s even a growth-type skill?! Bro, this is insane—total jackpot for us!”
The man named Luka got even more excited, shouting with joy.
I glanced at Isis, who was smiling happily as well.
“Alright, everyone, calm down. Since we have a new member, let’s start with introductions.”
At that, the young girl who’d spoken earlier raised her hand eagerly.
“My name’s Yenia! My skill is Telekinesis!”
After Yenia, the others introduced themselves in turn.
The stream of unfamiliar names and skills flew by so quickly that it made my head spin.
The last to speak was Isis.
“My name is Isis Clentain. My skills are Poison and Buffs.”
‘Poison and Buffs…?’
An odd combination, but somehow fascinating.
I focused hard to memorize all the information being shared.
Counting Isis and myself, there were eight people in total — not many, but not few either.
After introductions ended, dinner began.
Warm beef stew, soft bread, and a few slices of bacon.
Considering this was an apocalyptic survival setting, it was an impressively luxurious meal.
As I ate, I couldn’t help but notice something.
‘Except for the little one, Yenia, everyone here seems to have a defined role.’
Everyone had a useful combat or life skill.
‘So they don’t just bring anyone here. …It means if I want to stay, I have to pull my weight too.’
I glanced toward Isis, who was eating elegantly.
‘So that “test” back at the mansion was intentional, huh?’
The man who had easily sliced the creature in half near the end had first struggled quite a bit.
And although his skill was “Poison,” he hadn’t even used it.
That must’ve been the test — when I instinctively threw the creature into the wall, I must’ve passed.
‘Well, it all worked out in the end.’
A seemingly safe hideout, plenty of food, and good-natured people.
For someone thrown into a survival story, this was extraordinarily lucky.
‘Although… usually, whenever someone thinks that, something bad happens next, doesn’t it…?’
I froze mid-thought.
Wait—did I just jinx myself?
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
‘That was a truly satisfying meal.’
After the pleasant dinner, we moved to a large room that looked like a lounge — or a common room, they called it.
Yenia followed right beside me like a little shadow.
“Unnie, you’re so pretty!”
“Really? Thank you.”
Honestly, I’d been shocked by my own reflection earlier. I was… too pretty.
Maybe because Yenia was a child, it was easy to grow close to her.
“When I grow up, will I be as pretty as you?”
“Of course! You’ll be even prettier than me, Yenia.”
Her bright smile melted my heart.
Ah, she’s so cute.
This was the first truly relaxing moment I’d had since falling into this world.
As we chatted happily, Isis approached with a woman who had earlier introduced herself as Mary.
“Mary will show Larianah around the base.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mary stepped closer and whispered softly in my ear.
“Today, I’ll just show you where the bath is and how to use it.”
“…Got it.”
And just like that, I understood why Isis hadn’t done the tour herself — there were things only another woman could explain.
“Well then, we’ll head out first!”
With a polite wave, Mary took me by the hand and led me out of the lounge.
“Got any questions about our base? I’ll answer them on the way to the baths. Oh, and let’s drop the formal talk — we look about the same age anyway.”
Oh, perfect — I had tons of questions.
“Sure, let’s talk casually then. As for questions… I noticed the high walls around the place. Some creatures can smash through doors, right? So…”
“You’re wondering if any could break through the wall?”
“Yeah.”
Mary laughed lightly.
“The wall’s just a precaution — kind of like insurance. It’s mainly there to buy time if we ever need to deceive someone or escape. The real defense is my barrier.”
She smiled proudly.
“My skill is Boundary. Literally, I can create a defensive barrier. It perfectly protects everything inside and blocks anything from coming in.”
“…That’s amazing.”
Used well, that was a powerful skill — even useful for close combat.
“Pfft, not really. I’m more jealous of your power.”
“You mean my skill?”
“Yup. Healing is extremely rare, you know?”
“Really?”
“Totally. Ever since the world turned into this mess, people keep getting hurt, but no one could treat them properly. We’ve been surviving thanks to Luka’s herbs.”
Luka — the man who’d cheered at hearing my skill.
“But with an actual healer now? You could practically be the most powerful person in the world.”
Was my skill really that amazing?
I still didn’t know how to use it properly.
Honestly, I wasn’t even used to this whole “skill” concept.
I mean, this was supposed to be a romance fantasy world — who would expect “skills” here?
‘Still… if I want to survive, I’d better get used to it.’
Using my skills wisely would raise my survival chances.
“Honestly, I’m still a bit confused. I don’t remember anything before this.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it soon enough.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to.”
As we kept walking down the corridor, Mary asked,
“So, what’s your next question?”
“I was wondering — how do you guys get your water and light here? I mean, candles and such?”
I almost said electricity out loud…
‘Right, they use candles in this world.’
It was still a pseudo-medieval romance-fantasy setting, after all.
Mary burst out laughing.
“You really know how to ask the important stuff! You’ve got great survival instincts.”
“That’s… a compliment, right?”
“Of course! In this world, only people with strong survival skills make it to the end.”
“…So? What’s the answer?”
“Ah, you’ll see in a second. Look out the window.”
“Hm?”
Outside, I saw a small structure — looked like a little hut.
“A… well?”
“Yup! We draw water from a well inside our base, fed by a nearby river.”
“I see…”
“Even though we have plenty, we try to conserve. So for things like baths — since they use a lot of water — several people take turns at once.”
Oh, so they were quite organized after all.
