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Chapter 33
“It might be difficult for now, but if you practice like this, you’ll be able to apply it in real combat.”
Idorian, who had been watching Lumi and me, shook his head.
“You know the situation outside isn’t easy.”
“But still…”
“Even if we’re heading to the capital with the Imperial Army, we don’t know what could happen along the way.”
He cut Lumi off firmly.
“That’s exactly why we have to prepare thoroughly, just as the Grand Duke ordered. It’s to be ready for any accident.”
Lumi’s gaze trembled slightly, as if she couldn’t think of any words to persuade him.
Honestly, I couldn’t think of any either — because he was right.
This wasn’t just for ourselves, but for everyone traveling together.
“If it’s really too hard, we’ll talk about it again later.”
“No…”
“Alright, that’s enough work for today.”
When Idorian stood up, Lumi let out a soft sigh. Her brows furrowed slightly, perhaps because she hadn’t managed to escape Herestern’s training.
“Penelope, the Grand Duke of Herestern said you’d be rejoining us tomorrow.” Lumi looked at me.
“So you should’ve been on my side.”
“I wanted to, but…”
“You can’t do something like this alone.”
She whispered quietly as she stood up.
“I’ll try bringing it up again later — but next time, please take my side.”
In the end, Lumi’s plan failed.
Neither she nor I managed to escape Herestern’s drills.
Still, something had changed — since we now had to run in formation, I no longer stood out running alone.
Lumi had persuaded Herestern that running together at a steady pace for a long time would be better for building endurance.
At the front were Lumi, Uben, Lilia, and me.
Thankfully, Lumi’s pace wasn’t much faster than mine.
Once, we even sprinted at full speed to measure our times.
‘Penelope, is that really your best?’
Herestern had frowned as if he couldn’t believe it, but he didn’t push the issue.
Contrary to my worries, he must’ve decided there could be someone like me after all.
Just like that, three weeks passed.
We ran to build basic stamina, practiced sword stances and footwork — the same routine, day after day.
Time moved steadily on, and the seeds we planted finally sprouted.
“Corn sprouts are thin and tall,” I said, reading from the letter that came with the seeds. I pointed at the little green shoots so Lilia could see.
“There’s a thick central stalk here. Since we planted them in rows, it’ll be easier to tell them apart from weeds.”
Lilia nodded in understanding, and I went on to show her the sprouts of potatoes and basil — red-tinted stems for potatoes, and two small round leaves for basil.
“That’s amazing. They really do grow,” Lilia murmured, pulling out weeds in wonder.
“I’ve never done anything like this before. Well, I suppose this is your first time too, Lady Penelope.”
She kept glancing at the little garden, fascinated.
Lumi, on the other hand, looked unimpressed by Lilia’s enthusiasm and turned back to her weeding with a frown.
“These things grow fine without anyone planting them,” she grumbled.
Even though she would end up helping until the end, Lumi still complained under her breath.
“At least there are three of us — we’ll be done soon,” Lilia said brightly, her voice rising with encouragement.
Lumi nodded slightly, then changed the topic.
“So, what’s for dinner tonight?”
“Uben said he’d make soup.”
“Oh, that same pale soup again.” Lumi sighed.
After eating nothing but wheat, barley, and chickpea soup for days, she was clearly tired of it.
It wasn’t that food was scarce, but ingredients were limited, and none of us were great cooks — so soup was the simplest option.
Sometimes we cooked other ingredients before they spoiled, but that was rare.
“I think it’ll be soup for a while longer,” Lilia said, her lips drooping slightly — she looked just as tired of it.
“When do you think we can eat this?” she asked, pointing at the seedlings.
“The letter said about two months.”
“That’s sooner than I thought.”
After a moment of thought, Lilia’s expression brightened again.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get more kinds of seeds next time? Like tomatoes, carrots, or squash?”
“That would make the soup more interesting, I suppose — though it means more farm work.”
“I’ll ask His Highness later,” Lilia said.
Lumi, however, didn’t seem particularly thrilled.
“His Majesty said he’d send another report about the capital soon, so…”
Her voice trailed off and faded.
I looked up from my weeding, wondering why she suddenly went quiet. She seemed lost in thought.
“I’m sure we’ll get more seeds soon,” I said.
When our eyes met, Lilia forced a smile and quickly finished her sentence.
“Lilia, what’s wrong?”
Lumi tilted her head, sensing Lilia’s hesitation too.
“I had a nightmare recently,” Lilia said, her voice soft and uneasy.
“I dreamed that the zombies we spared escaped… and there wasn’t any cure to turn them back into humans.”
Lumi tilted her head slightly, and Lilia continued.
“Do you think it’s really possible to turn them human again?”
It was a question long settled, but she asked it again — out of lingering fear.
“You were the first one to bring that up, remember?” Lumi said.
“I know… and maybe that’s why I feel even heavier about it.”
She trailed off under Lumi’s puzzled look.
“I want to believe it’s possible, but…”
Lilia, who once persuaded us all with her logic and conviction, now seemed afraid that everyone’s hard work might be for nothing.
“…If my father or brother had become zombies, I think I’d still try to save them. I’d want to do at least that much before letting them go.”
After a long silence, she spoke slowly.
“But if all this turns out to be useless…”
She looked burdened, feeling responsible for setting this whole plan in motion.
“Even if it is, that’s just how it is. We can’t know the future,” I said gently.
“All we can do is make the best choices we can in the moment.”
Still, Lilia looked unconvinced, her face clouded with worry.
“Right, and responsibility should fall to those with the most power,” Lumi chimed in, agreeing with me.
“So — His Majesty, Idorian, the Grand Duke of Herestern, and the council officials,” she said, counting on her fingers.
“Then Penelope, and then Lilia. So don’t worry too much.”
She shrugged lightly and grinned playfully.
“You may have brought up the idea, but the choices belong to the higher-ups.”
“Do you think so?”
Lilia asked uncertainly. Lumi nodded as if it were obvious.
Listening quietly, I suddenly realized something — Lumi’s name hadn’t come up among the list of those responsible.
“What about you, Lumi?” I asked.
Lilia blinked, startled, but waited for the answer.
“I’m a foreigner,” Lumi said with a light shake of her head.
“What?” Lilia asked, surprised by her shamelessly confident tone.
“Pfft—hahaha!”
Lilia burst into laughter, bright and clear.
“Alright, Lilia, back to work,” Lumi said firmly, pretending to be annoyed, though the sound of laughter hung warmly in the air.
By the time the sky turned red, our work was done.
We were all too tired to stand up right away when—
“Someone’s coming!”
Uben came running toward us, breathless, gesturing frantically back the way he’d come.
