ESMLT 26

Chapter 26

Neighhh!

“Ah!”

As if waiting for the chance, the last remaining horse lunged straight at me.

I froze as yellowed teeth and a long pink tongue rushed into my vision.

‘It’s going to swallow me!’

“Get down!”

At the shout, I reflexively threw myself flat, just as the horse’s jaws snapped through the space where my head had been.

The beast, having bitten only empty air, reared up again—only for Jaeger to vault onto its back in an instant, yanking the reins hard.

He twisted its head, then drew his sword and drove the blade straight into the thrashing horse’s skull.

Splurt!

Blood sprayed. The horse’s legs buckled, and it collapsed sideways.

Jaeger landed lightly, breathing once to steady himself, before shaking the blood from his longsword and sheathing it.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-yeah, I guess.”

I answered blankly.

Of all people, I never thought I’d feel relief at Jaeger—the man who loathed me.

“Thanks.”

“….”

He stared at me with an unreadable expression before sharply turning away, wiping blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.

“…No thanks are necessary.”

Without another word, he strode ahead, the lightstone in his hand casting pale light across his white uniform pants, now stained with blood.

Alarmed, I caught him by the arm.

“Were you bitten?”

“It’s a scratch from the saddle.”

“Are you okay?”

Jaeger’s brow furrowed sharply.

“I said it’s nothing, so don’t—”

That was when it came.

From somewhere far off, came the sound of trampled weeds.

Graaahhh!

The familiar, grating moans of zombies.

‘Damn it…’

We’d only just finished off the horse, and already they were swarming again.

Between the trees, staggering shapes emerged.

‘One, two, three, four, five, six… ah, forget it.’

I gave up counting, wiping sweat from my nape.

‘Two people against this many? What, are we supposed to split a bean between us too?’

It wasn’t impossible for two to hold them off, but—Jaeger was injured, the forest before dawn was pitch-black, and I was already exhausted from the fight with the horse.

‘Damn it…’

Always the variables.
These damned variables were the real problem.

Crack!

I bit my lip and smashed a zombie nearby with my hammer.

Crunch!

Jaeger split another’s jaw and shouted,

“It’s too dangerous here! Run!”

I snorted, swinging my hammer.

“How about the injured one takes a rest?”

Jaeger strode toward me irritably and grabbed my arm, forcing his backpack into my hands.

“Are you deaf? I can’t run—so you at least should get away.”

I glared and shook his hand off.

“Say one more word, and I’ll throw you to them as a snack.”

“What?”

His scarred brow twisted menacingly.

I thrust the lightstone up to his face.

Now that I could see properly, his complexion was pale, sweat dripping down his temples.

“You called me a parasite before, and now, all injured and helpless, you’re suddenly acting like some protector?”

Jaeger froze, struck speechless.

“If you’re injured, then act like it and listen to me.”

I pulled his arm over my shoulder, supporting him.

“I’m not leaving you behind. Ever.”

“….”

“How could I just abandon you?”

For a moment, his obsidian eyes flickered violently.

This wasn’t some flimsy heroic impulse.
It was plain logic.

‘If I ditch the guy who already hates me, how am I supposed to deal with the fallout later?’

And on top of that, he was Redria’s first love.

‘Why should I, a third party, pay the price for that history?’

Whether it had been mutual love or his own fault didn’t matter.
I would save him.

Save him—and leave all that emotion behind in this zombie-infested zone.

Because even after escaping here, I would have to live as Redria.
And I had no intention of spending my life chained to his feelings.

So, hammer in one hand and Jaeger leaning on me, I pushed forward.

Surprisingly, instead of refusing, he leaned into my support, looking dazed.

‘Damn, he’s heavy. Is his body made of lead?’

Panting, I staggered on—one arm swinging the hammer, the other holding him up.

Rumble!

But my efforts were wasted as the ground itself erupted again.

The earth surged upward like a furious tide, flinging zombies away.

‘Terrain change.’

Darkness is its back.
The shifting land is its arms.

‘No, that’s not right…’

I dropped the lightstone and gripped Jaeger’s hand on my shoulder.

His large, calloused fingers twitched faintly.

Crackkk!

The soil rose in massive waves, swallowing everything.

Closing my eyes, I braced for death.

And in that moment—
Jaeger’s hand gripped mine tightly.

The earth rolled us about like clothes in a washing machine before finally stilling.

Quite some time passed.

‘I wonder if the Crown Prince and Sien are holding out…’

But worrying about them was pointless—we had our own mess.

To put it simply: we were trapped underground.

Just as the earth was about to fold shut like paper, I’d jammed my hammer in to wedge it open, barely leaving us a pocket of air.

Graaaah!

But the zombies couldn’t be avoided.

Though pitch-dark, I could hear them pressing in, shoving heads and arms through the narrow cracks, dirt crumbling down from above.

Thankfully, as long as the terrain shift lasted, the soil was hard as stone, so collapse wasn’t a worry.

I shook dirt from my hair.

‘A tunnel may be safer, but…’

Our position was horribly awkward.

Both my hands were braced against Jaeger’s hot, solid body, my feet dug into the wall.
And my backside was planted squarely on some part of him.

I groaned softly.

‘This is bad…’

The posture was uncomfortable enough, but worse—my hair had snagged somewhere, yanking painfully enough to bring tears.

If I relaxed my legs, my weight would crush Jaeger; if I pushed up, my scalp screamed in agony.

‘First, I need the lightstone, so I can see.’

It had rolled around when we were tossed, hitting my head more than once. It had to be somewhere inside the burrow.

I groped blindly in the dark, when Jaeger growled under his breath and caught my arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for the lightstone.”

I pulled free and kept searching along the damp earthen wall.

‘It’s got to be down here somewhere…’

Suddenly, my hand brushed against something tense beneath his clothing.

Jaeger flinched violently, snarling.

“Where do you think you’re touching?”

I yanked my hand back, flustered.

‘…Where did I touch?’

I didn’t want to know. Not at all.
Meanwhile, my scalp still burned.

“Actually, my hair’s caught and it—”

“Don’t lift your face.”

“My body’s really uncomfortable—”

“Don’t move.”

What is this, the army? Am I the trainee and he the drill sergeant?

I almost snapped, stung by pain and frustration, but I was too drained to argue.

‘…Though I think I get why he’s so tense.’

This situation wasn’t awkward just for me.

Then Jaeger’s hands brushed his own chest, fumbling until he found my trapped hair.

A sudden tug wrenched my scalp.

“Ow!”

“It’s caught on a button. Hold still.”

He tried to work it free one-handed, but soon pulled his other arm around.

Now it was like he was holding me against him, his body heat seeping through the thin fabric between us.

‘This feels… strange.’

A moment ago, we’d been fighting—and now, here I was, practically embraced by him in a cramped tunnel.

Graaaah!

‘…Granted, he still hates me, and there are zombies swarming above our heads.’

As I resigned myself to this bizarre apocalyptic-romance predicament, Jaeger finally withdrew his hands.

“All done.”

I carefully lifted my head.
The searing pain in my scalp was gone.

“Thank you, Duke.”

I eased myself down to the ground, leaning against the wall.

Jaeger also sighed and shifted into a more comfortable position—it must have been miserable for him, too.

“By the way, is your leg all right?”

The silence was oppressive, so I grasped at conversation, remembering his injury.

Thankfully, he still had the backpack with our rations and supplies.

From it, I pulled out a soundproofing sticker and pressed it to the wall.

A translucent barrier swelled like a bubble, enclosing us and cutting off the zombies’ howls.
(It only lasts 24 hours and we had few left, so we hadn’t used them in the huts.)

Then, I held out my hand toward Jaeger.