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A Corporate Slave Becomes a Villainous Nuisance in a Zombie Apocalypse Episode 26 Chapter 5. A Corporate Slave in a Strange Land 'Was I at least helpful?' 'Was that even a question? You were helpful itself!' She seemed pleased that I had been useful. 'I stepped on something hot while running. It's fine. We're almost there anyway.' Her feet looked like they were in considerable pain. 'How much do you usually walk?' 'Well... I sometimes ‌‌go to the park on sunny afternoons.' Once we escaped from here, I was planning to teach her about exercise. ‌‌‌"...." My eyes opened. A ceiling fresco depicting a ‌‌woman born from ‌‌sea foam came into view. This wasn't my ‌‌‌‌home. "...." Following the litany of "Why am I still in Monday?", "Why am I still in Tuesday?", "Why am I still in Wednesday?" came "Why am I still possessed?" I ‌‌stared at the bed post with its translucent lace curtains, only blinking my eyes. I had lost consciousness and regained it, yet the possession remained unbroken. This is insane. 'I ‌‌‌‌escaped the zombie villa. Shouldn't that be the end?' There was nothing left for me to do here.... The only thing waiting was to forcibly follow the protagonists on their adventure without me—the villainess—and die by Praha's hand. 'Could it be that I only escape if I die according to the original story?' What if I ‌‌‌actually die then? 'What am I risking my life for? No, ‌what's happening to my real body?' Did I die? Am I injured? Did I get hit by a projector falling from the movie theater ceiling ‌‌and lose consciousness? It would be better to be injured and unable to come to work ‌than to have abandoned my post at lunch and not returned.... 'I can't actually lose this job.' I'm not joking—I'm serious. How hard was it to get into this company! I submitted nn job applications and barely became a corporate employee, learned my job through tears and sweat, composed acrostic poems with my boss's name at company dinners (thanks to which my nickname among my peers is the Yeouido Poet...), and through ‌‌‌‌all this social struggle barely made it to assistant manager and even bought a car. And now ‌‌‌you want me to repeat that entire process? I couldn't do it even if ‌‌you beat me to death. 'I have to go back. If I go back... I can forget everything that happened here.' The time I struck down zombies with my own hands. The time I ran through the burning garden holding Praha's hand. The time I had ‌to watch my newly made friend die right before my eyes. As if it were all just something that happened in a dream. I tried to convince myself it was just a vivid nightmare. That Consomme not returning alone, that she was left ‌‌‌behind—none of it actually happened. That such a person didn't exist, that I'd merely witnessed a character from a dream die. After all, we don't spend our entire lives drowning in guilt when someone dies in a movie. Just like that. 'So I absolutely have to go back.' I squeezed my aching eyes ‌‌shut, then opened them again. ‌‌And I bolted upright. "Kyaaah!" "Eek!" "Miss!" People I hadn't even known were beside me shrieked in alarm. ...I was more startled than they were. "Miss! Are you conscious?!" "How is your body?!" They swarmed around me, clamoring. From their uniforms ‌‌and head scarves, they appeared to be maids. "If there's any discomfort...!" "I'm fine." I endured the muscle soreness that felt like I'd been beaten and asked the nearest maid. "What time is it? How long was I unconscious? Is everything okay outside?" And you ‌‌‌are maids, right? "How did I get home?" I spoke casually to you, didn't I? This is my home, isn't it? Fortunately, everything checked out. The Blonde Maid, who wore a distinctly different uniform and no head scarf, answered without ‌‌‌seeming particularly puzzled. "The Crown Prince brought you here, Miss." "The Crown Prince?" "Yes. You wouldn't regain consciousness at all, Miss. We treated all your external wounds, but you remained unconscious, so His Highness ‌‌‌was very worried." "Ah." "That's what you were curious about, isn't it?" "...." I'd asked because I was curious about everything else too. I'd asked four questions, but received only one answer. I had no choice but to ask again. "How long was I unconscious?" "About half a day, ‌‌‌‌Miss. My goodness, Miss. The ‌‌Crown ‌Prince was truly worried about you." "...." "It's not a lie. How else would he have brought you here himself, leaving Yujein behind like that?" I'd ‌‌‌‌heard that girl became some kind of saint or something.... The Blonde Maid, whose words trailed off, twisted the corners ‌‌of her eyes as if concerned. "What do I know? It seems His Highness has finally opened his heart to you, Miss! It was worth pushing yourself to attend that gathering!" She pretends to humor me, but her voice is laughing. 'She's treating me like an idiot.' I let it slide. I am an idiot, after all. 'I know absolutely nothing about this world, so of course I'm an idiot.' I ignored the maid's condescending attitude and asked a different question. ‌‌"What about the clothes I was wearing?" "The clothes, miss?" "That scandalously revealing red dress. Were there anything in the pockets? A few stones about this size... and slippers." "Ah, those stones you mentioned." "Yes. Those stones and the slippers." "I've kept them safe. I had a feeling you'd be looking for them." The Blonde Maid laughed. She must have held some rank among the servants, because instead of fetching them herself, she gestured to ‌another maid. What fell into my palm moments later was— "...Why ‌‌are there only stones? Where are the slippers?" "The slippers, miss?" "The white slippers that were with these. Made of cloth." "Oh. We threw those away, miss." "...You threw them away?" "Weren't they trash?" .... Who in their right mind carefully ‌carries trash in their pocket? ‌‌‌‌"When we tore apart the ruined dress, we sent those to the Incinerator. They were covered ‌‌‌in dirt, had footprints pressed into them, and were filthy." The Blonde Maid added casually. Dizziness washed over me. "...Those weren't trash." They weren't trash. They were the slippers Consomme was wearing. ‌‌I'd given them to her because I was worried about the girls who had to run in high heels. The only thing of Consomme's that had come back. They were anything but trash. My head spun. "Why did you throw them away without asking! Bring them back right now! No, never mind. I'll go get them myself." I threw off the blanket covering me. As I swung my legs out of bed, every joint in my body screamed in protest. "Where is the Incinerator?" The maids gasped ‌‌‌at my sudden momentum to rush out in my nightclothes. The Blonde Maid tried to stop me. "Miss! Those slippers are gone now! They've already mixed with the other trash and gone into the fire!" "I won't know unless I check!" "We have to dig through the trash! I don't even know which bundle it's in!" "That's why I'm going to find it myself! I'm not sending you all, so stop wasting time and just tell me where to go!" "Miss!" The maids fluttered about in confusion. Regardless of their protests, I threw off the blankets and slipped my feet into my slippers. "Where is it? Where exactly?" "Sigh." The Blonde Maid didn't answer—she only sighed. Now I noticed she ‌‌even wore a bundle of keys at her waist. 'So she must be ‌‌the head maid or something.' Though she looked far too young for such a position. The head maid (presumably) rubbed her brow and spoke. "I understand, I understand. I was wrong to think that way. I'll go back and retrieve it." Then she whispered something to the maid standing behind her. The maid, catching my gaze, quickly lowered her head and left the room. "...You're going to search for it, right?" "Of course." "Sigh." Something about her demeanor felt off, but there was nothing more I could do about it. 'I don't even know what position this head maid holds in this household.' I'd wait and see. My energy drained, I leaned back ‌‌‌‌against the headboard. I studied the head maid standing before me. 'Not a single apology after making that mistake.' They'd carelessly discarded someone else's belongings without so much as an apology. And this was supposed to be a hierarchical society, wasn't it? 'Come to think of it, that dead knight I met at the Villa also disrespected me.' At least he had the excuse of being from the Imperial Family, but what about these people? They feigned concern, pretended to be accommodating, while subtly mocking and looking down on me. The foolish villainess Yusara might not have noticed, but I—a corporate worker—certainly did. 'As mentioned in the phone guidance earlier~' In emails like these. 'I'm keeping evidence of what you said in writing, so if you change your story later, you're done for.' I had the acumen to ‌‌read between those lines. 'So she's supposed to be a villainess. I thought she'd strike back at everyone who disrespected her, but apparently not.' Quite the hollow style, if you ask me. 'Whatever. Not my problem.' I clicked my tongue inwardly and examined the crimson stone in my hand. The crimson stone I'd extracted from the zombie corpse. "Hmm." What on earth are these things for? 1. Summoning stones that call forth zombies. ‌‌Created by a sorcerer seeking vengeance against the Imperial Family. Since I've collected several of these stones, in about ten hours they'll automatically shatter ‌‌and zombie gates will open. Zombies flooding in. = Yusara. Villain of the century, destined for the history books. 2. Control ‌‌‌‌stones that command ‌‌zombies. Possessing this stone allows one to manipulate zombies at will. Because I was careless, I accidentally let this fall into the hands of someone wicked.... = Yusara. Idiot of the century, destined for the history books. 3. Infection stones that transform humans into zombies. Those who carry this stone or have it embedded in their bodies gradually become zombies. = Yusara's life ends here. RIP. *Note: I must not overlook the fact that only my eyes—those of the possessed—can see these stones.* "...I have no idea." Number 1? Number 2? Number 3? Since every zombie had this stone...probably number 3? Number 1 (summoning stones) and number 2 (control stones) wouldn't be that common. Every single one of them had it without exception. ‌If it's number 3.... 'So I'm becoming a zombie, then?' A corporate slave turned zombie in a zombie apocalypse. "Miss, please don't be upset. We'll find it right away." "Was ‌that a gift from the Crown Prince? We had no idea." I glanced at the maids, who still treated me like a child. Judging by how calmly they're prattling on about gifts, things must still be peaceful outside. 'What happens next, I wonder.' -A brief recollection of the novel's subsequent plot- ‌‌‌‌The Capital remains ‌‌‌‌‌unharmed. While opinions swirl about the cause of the zombie outbreak at the Villa. The ‌‌‌‌‌protagonist's group establishes an Investigation Team. Participants: Saint Yujein, Crown Prince Praha, Grand Duke Cyprus, and others I don't remember. Naturally, as the villainess, I'm not included. Unable to send the male leads and Yujein alone, the jealous villainess drags along a few knights and follows the Investigation Team. There, every time a zombie appears, she uses her house's knights as shields—a nuisance—before dying at Praha's hand. This means the Capital remains unharmed until the Investigation Team ‌‌‌‌departs. 'They wouldn't leave to investigate if a zombie party broke out in the Capital.' But what if my possession changes the story? What if I become the villain who shatters this peace and summons zombies here? Then what do I do—where do I bury these stones right now? 'I'll throw that stone into the sea... Drop it deep... So no one can find it.' 【A Decision to Part】 Of all things, the stone happened to be beautifully shaped—exactly ‌‌‌‌the kind of thing someone ‌‌‌might mistake for a jewel while digging and pick up. I asked the maid. "How many people are in this mansion? Evacuation would be difficult alone... So, what about children or the elderly and infirm? How many knights are there?" "Children... There are quite a few, yes? Many commoner children come to help with the Duke's work." "Quite a few? How many exactly?" "Well, I'd say about ten didn't come today?" "Eek." What kind of work ‌‌requires borrowing children's hands from outside? "Then what about the elderly?" "There aren't any elderly at all. The Duke dislikes people ‌‌‌‌of advanced age." "He dislikes elderly people?" "Once a servant exceeds thirty-five years of age, he reassigns them elsewhere. He says he must keep young blood close ‌‌‌by to stay young himself." The head maid replied ‌‌‌as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Talk about peculiar hiring standards. Is he scouting child ‌‌models or something? 'So that's why the head maid is so young.' Sigh. Not my problem anyway. What matters to me right now isn't this family's employment practices—it's the purpose of these red stones. I examined the red stone in my palm. And then. "...Huh?" There's something inside... The moment I unconsciously squeezed harder. Crack! "Yusara!" ‌"Agh!" Who just bursts through someone's door like that?! [(Temporary Safe Zone) Duke's Mansion 3rd Floor Noble's Room] - Yusara (Alive)

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